Recipe: Stuffed Shells with Tomato Sauce

I love pasta. Mike also loves pasta. In fact, Mike usually asks me to make some variation of pasta each menu. When I came across this recipe, I knew that we'd have another big hit. I'm not a huge ricotta fan, but these were so good, that I think that I might have a new taste for them. It was pretty easy to make, and unfortunately for me, I didn't get to have any leftovers, as I had to go back down to the Springs, so Mike was the lucky one who got to polish them off. We will be adding this to our cookbooks!


zest of one lemon (optional)

For the Sauce:
1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (I used much more than this)
scant 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt (I just added a little, not this much)
4 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 28-ounce can crushed red tomatoes (Because I used two large cans of tomatoes, I upped the amount of garlic and pepper flakes)

For the Filling:
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup / ~5 oz grated mozzarella
1 bunch of chives, minced
25-30 jumbo dried pasta shells (1 box is plenty!!)

Grease a 9x13 baking pan and sprinkle the zest of 1/2 the lemon across it. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350*.

To make the sauce, combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and garlic in a cold saucepan. Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute just 45 seconds or so until everything is fragrant - you don't want the garlic to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and heat to a gentle simmer, just a minute or two.
Remove from heat. Let cool.
To make the filling, combine the ricotta, egg, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until combined, then stir in the mozzarella, remaining lemon zest, and 3/4 of the chives. Set aside.
Cook the shells according to package instructions in well-salted water - until al dente. If you overcook, the shells will tear as you attempt to fill them. Drain and let cool long enough to handle with your hands.
Spread 1/3 of sauce across the bottom of the prepared pan. Fill each shell with ricotta, and arrange in a single layer in the pan. Ladle the remaining sauce over the shells, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, uncover for the final 15 minutes or until the shells are cooked through. Sprinkle with the remaining chives and serve hot.

Note*: I did not use lemon in my dish. I hear that adding it will be just as tasty, but I didn't add it, and it was still great!
The easiest way to fill the shells, if you have never made a pasta dish with shells before, if you hold it in the palm of your hand, with the slit starting at the base of your thumb, you can just squeeze the shell open slightly, enough to place the filling into them.

I had leftover shells as the didn't all fit into my 9x13 pan. If you place the unused shells in a baggie, and save until all of the stuffed shells are gone, there should still be plenty of sauce left to heat and pour over the remaining shells!

Enjoy!