Emeril Lagasse Super Stuffed Shells
- Ready In:
- 1hr 5mins
- Ingredients:
- 18
- Serves:
-
5
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 0.5 (12 ounce) box jumbo pasta shells (18 to 20 shells)
- 2 cups finely chopped onions
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 lb Italian sausage, peeled
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ground beef (optional)
- pasta sauce, of your choice
directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a 2-quart casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
- Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pasta shells, and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally with a long-handled spoon to prevent the shells from sticking together.
- Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain.
- While pasta is cooking, prepare the following:.
- In a medium skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until very soft, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Add the ground veal and cook, stirring, until cooked and browned.
- Add the squeezed spinach and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
- Add the spinach mixture, the extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tsp Essence, remaining teaspoon of salt, the basil, oregano, and pepper, and stir to combine thoroughly.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the spinach-ricotta filling into each cooked pasta shell.
- Place the filled shells in the prepared dish.
- If using ground beef, brown in fry pan, drain and add to pasta sauce of your choice.
- Pour the Basic Red Sauce over the filled shells and top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, until bubbly, about 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
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Reviews
-
One of the best pasta dishes I have ever made--it tastes and looks like something you'd eat in a restaurant! The recipe makes enough filling to fill closer to the whole box of shells, which is good because they are so delicious. Making the Essence of Emeril yourself is no sweat. Keep some around in a jar, it's a convenient way to kick your other dishes up a notch. ;)
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>Click to feed animals I'm a retired teacher now living in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston. I have one daughter, 2 granddaughters, and 1 great-grandson(17 yo Dec '11)! I've travelled a bit throughout Europe and the U.S. as well as Honduras and Costa Rica. I think I may have some gypsy ancestors! I love to travel but am not able to anymore. So I do a LOT of reading instead. My current craft passion is knittng but I have dabbled in just about everything. I've done leaded glass work(stained glass), which I love; am working on counted cross stitch; and am willing to try any craft, at least once! I've also worked for a major insurance company as a case analyst. I have 2 cats, Teddy BB 11 .o. on the 19th of Feb, and CiCi who will be 5 years old on Mar 6th. src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/orn.jpg></p>