Shell Games

Stuffed Shells with Marinara Sauce

Serves 4-6

Our parents like to come up to Tucson on a fairly frequent basis. They do their shopping, and we eat together. This weekend my dad had just gone to the dentist and could only have soft foods so we decided to make stuffed shells, borrowing a basic recipe from Giada de Laurentiis and then making it our own. Ever the organized cooks, Paula took the lead with the shopping and the shells, and Mariana was in charge of the sauce. As you may have read on our About Us page, we get a big part of our love of food from our parents. However, this also means that while we are trying to be nice daughters and cook our parents a yummy and easily chewable meal, we have to repeatedly kick our mom or dad out of the kitchen!

The Ingredients:

• 1 box of jumbo pasta shells
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 3-4 Italian sausages
• 2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 pinches of dried oregano
• 24 ounces basic marinara sauce
• 30 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 1/3 cups grated parmesan
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Bottle of red wine

The Sauce:

In a large saucepan, start heating the olive oil. Slice or uncase the Italian sausage. We used turkey sausage in an effort to be healthier, but you can use any kind. Add to sauce pan and begin sauteeing. When it has almost finished cooking, add the onion and continue to sautee. Finally, add the garlic and finish cooking. Set aside in a bowl.

Keep the saucepan over the heat and add a couple splashes of your red wine. Let the alcohol burn off and then add the marinara sauce. Mix in the sausage/onion/garlic mixture, sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low as you prepare your shells, mixing from time to time and adding more pepper flakes, oregano, or salt if needed.

The Shells and Stuffing:

Before you start the sauce, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the water and then the shells. Cook for 6-7 minutes, so that the shells are partially cooked. They'll finish cooking in the oven. Once they're ready, remove from the water one by one with a slotted spoon so that they drain. Lay them out on a greased cookie sheet, making sure to keep them apart so they don't stick to each other.

In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, parmesan, egg yolks, basil, parsley, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and a 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 F, and don't forget to check on your sauce!

Grease a large baking dish and then spoon in enough sauce to cover the bottom. Then take each shell and spoon in the ricotta mixture. Arrange the shells in the dish and then spoon the remaining sauce over them. Sprinkle the mozzarella over them.

Place the dish in the lower third of your oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until everything is heated through and the cheese on top is golden brown.

Serve, garnish with basil or parsley, and enjoy with a glass of red wine!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Yum!

Mariana and Paula

Bonus! A little music for your meal...