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Butternut-Ricotta Stuffed Shells OCTOBER 25, 2012 / TODD VAN PATTER / 
We found this recipe on Twitter, and thought it was too good not to try. It takes all the homey deliciousness of Italian stuffed shells, and gives it a fresh twist with great fall flavors like butternut squash and sage. It's a great meal to take to someone, because it's both vegetarian and easy to freeze... we drizzled the butter-sage sauce over the shells before freezing, so the flavors could all warm up together when reheating without needing a second container for the sauce. Try them out! We thought they were both delicious and easy to make, which are two great qualities in any dish! 
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Peel your butternut squash and dice it into roughly 2-inch chunks. If you have a food mill, you can skip the peeling step to save time. Toss the squash pieces in oil, salt and pepper and lay evenly on a baking pan. 
A great idea would be to start a pot of water boiling while you work on the squash, so the pasta can cook while the squash is in the oven. Bake your squash for 15-20 minutes until soft. Meanwhile, boil your shells in a large pot of lightly salted water until fairly soft (but not mushy) according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside. 
When your squash is cooked, mash it up in a medium sized bowl for the filling. You'll need about 2 cups worth. If you're using a food mill or something similar, just run the pieces through and it'll do most of the work for you. 
Mix the ricotta, egg, garlic, spinach, parmesan, lemon zest, salt and pepper into the mashed squash. 
Fill each shell with a generous scoop of the filling and place together in a buttered baking dish (when we made it, the recipe filled two 8-inch square baking pans). Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until you can see a little browning on top of the filling. 
While it cooks, melt a stick of butter in a shallow pan and allow to bubble and cook gently until brown and bubbly. Add your fresh chopped sage and cook gently to infuse the flavor. Let cool slightly, then add the juice from the lemon (to taste). 
When the shells are done, drizzle with the butter-sage sauce, sprinkle with a little extra parmesan, and serve! This would go great with a nice salad on the side to fill out the meal. Enjoy! Butternut-Ricotta Stuffed Shells Ingredients:
Instructions:
The original recipe can be found here.  |
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