Vegetarian Stuffed Pasta Shells

Submitted by Diann is Cooking

"For the olives, quality counts. Use "gourmet" olives, preferably already de-pitted, for time saving reasons. The apple should be tart and crunchy; I used an Ida Red. (PS: "1 celery" should read "1 celery stalk"; hopefully this will so read.)"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 30 large pasta shells
• 1 large eggplant
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2⁄3 cup olive, pitted and roughly chopped
• 1 tart apple, roughly diced
• 1⁄2 red onion, medium, finely diced
• 1 celery, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon pimiento, sliced
• 2 ounces capers
• 2 teaspoons pesto sauce
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• fresh dill

directions

1. For the eggplant: Preheat oven to 350°F Lightly grease a baking pan with a little of the olive oil. Slice eggplant into slices approximately 1/4 inch thick and remove skin. Lightly dab with lemon juice to discourage discoloration. Place slices side by side in baking pan, and brush the tops with the remainder of the olive oil. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of the ground nutmeg over them, and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool to room temperature, then roughly slice and/or mash the eggplant into small fragments.
2. For the shells: Follow the directions on the box. Cook a few extra in case some break or adhere to the cookware. Drain and allow to cool.
3. Combine the eggplant, olives, apple, onion, celery, pimentos, capers, the rest of the nutmeg, the pesto and dill.
4. Add one tablespoon of mayonnaise to the mix.
5. Stuff the shells; the above amounts should fill approximately 30 shells.
6. Chill, and serve.

Reviews

[Sydney Mike]

Made the entire recipe just for the 2 of us to have for supper & then to snack on the next day ~ Also wanted to see if they'd make a new & unusual addition to my finger food counter the next time I host one of my monthly meetings, & sure enough, these little tasties are just great! A little time consuming what with the stuffing of so many little buggers, but well worth the effort, I thought! Thanks for sharing the recipe! [Made & reviewed in the Special Event ~ Adopt a Veggie Tag!]

 

[Wish I Could Cook]

Great appy!!! I love recipes with creative ingredient lists and this is a great one! It was really easy to make and tastes delicious. Next time, I think I'm going to skip the shells and just serve them on little toast rounds, or even as a dip. It's versatile and can be made ahead, great features for an appetizer. Also, next time I might chop up the eggplant before roasting, because it was a little soft afterward. But as is it's a super recipe and I'm sure I'm going to find lots of uses for it.