Baked Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells 

@mangia.con.elena

                                     

 

My husband is German. He was raised in an area that was rich in German heritage and culture. When our dating became more serious, I knew it was time to take him home. This was a big deal as I had not brought very many boyfriends to my house to meet my family. As you can very well imagine, there were enough Italian men in my house to intimidate even the most confident of young men. My brothers scared off a few of them early on in my high school days that I decided then that I would only bring home the one I intended to marry.  So my then boyfriend and I made the long trip up North to meet my family. He was quite nervous as he had never met an Italian family before and his image of Italians was based on movies such as the Godfather. His experience with Italian food was fast food pizza. I, of course, had a lot of fun with this and didn't help ease his nervousness any. I did tell him that if my mother offers him food, he is to take it graciously and not to worry if my father doesn't talk to him. My dad was a tough nut to crack and being his only daughter, he was not going to take an immediate shine to anyone. Especially a non Italian. When we arrived my mother immediately served us brodo with stelline and then canneloni. Well it was the first time he had ever had canneloni and my mother's are truly amazing. There were two kinds, one with meat and one with spinach and ricotta. He finished off his plate and then my mom asked if he wanted more. Because I had told him not to refuse he didn't! I swear he finished off most of that large pan of canneloni on his own that night. He was more than happy to oblige! My father watched in quiet amusement and my mother smiled from ear to ear. He thanked my mom and told her that it was the best thing he ever tasted. Well, she immediately fell in love with him. So from then on, anytime we went to visit them or they came here, there was always canneloni being served and bags of frozen canneloni to keep for later when we were on our own. He even talked about canneloni during his speech at our wedding. I sometimes wonder if he married me for the food! My dad eventually warmed up to him as well and enjoyed watching his German son in law appreciate and love authentic Italian food. 

The other night my husband and son both said how much they miss Nonna's canneloni. We used the last batch from the freezer about 8 months ago. Had I known that I wouldn't be seeing her for going on almost a year now, I most definitely would have taken those extra bags she offered me. She also is unable to make them anymore and that is very sad to me. Making it from scratch takes a bit of time, especially if making the pasta. So instead, I decided to make stuffed pasta shells. I called my mom as I often do and asked her advice on how to make the stuffing so they tasted just like hers. It makes her feel good talking about her food and it pleases her when I say I am making one of her dishes and for me it is the best way to stay connected to my mom. Judging by the reaction of my husband and son, it was a big hit. My husband told me it tasted just like my mamma's. That warmed my heart because I knew my mamma would be proud. 🤗

This dish takes much less time than making canneloni, but with the same taste profile. I used sugo that I already had made and put in  the freezer. If you don't have any sugo available then you can make a quick one following the same recipe as in my earlier post. Just add ground meat, and do without the sausages, short ribs and wine. Or if you want completely vegetarian, then make a quick marinara sauce. If you are making a sauce from scratch, then make the sauce earlier and just let it simmer on the stove for at least half hour. As with all amounts and ingredients in my recipes, they are just estimates. It all depends on how much you would like to make, for how many and your own taste bud preferences. QB (quanto basta) in my recipes means you be the judge of how much, how little or none at all! These are just guidelines- make this your own by experimenting. That's the fun with cooking Italian- well that and eating it too of course!

You can always make an extra pan for the freezer. Prepare but do not bake. Once cooled, cover with saran wrap and tin foil and freeze. Can bake from frozen another day!

Ingredients 

• already prepared tomato sauce or quick make sauce warming on the stove about 8-10 cups. 
• 1 lb ground beef or pork
• 1 pkg of large pasta shells 
• 1 tub (475 g) of ricotta
• 3/4 bag thawed frozen spinach (550 g). I thaw it by placing it in a colander and letting it sit atop a bowl. 
• shredded mozarella (QB)
• 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano
• pinch of nutmeg (QB)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil  in  a pan and add ground beef. Cook until browned. Add to sugo warming on stove
2. Squeeze all excess liquid from spinach and from ricotta if runny. Add ricotta and spinach to a bowl. Add nutmeg and stir it until well blended. Add salt and pepper and taste. Adjust.
3. Boil lots of water in a large pot. Once the water is at a rolling boil add a generous amount of salt. Add the pasta, cook pasta at a good boil until al dente or even a little bit under. The pasta will continue to cook in the sauce. Taste the pasta often as you don't want the pasta to overcook. Strain the pasta using a spider and place back in pot or in a large bowl.
4. Ladle some sauce onto the bottom of a casserole dish/lasagna pan- I used a 9x13
5. Take a shell and open it gently, add a teaspoon or more to fill the shell. The amount depends on you (QB). I start off with about a heaping teaspoon ( a real tea-spoon not the measurement) and then if there is any left over I go back and fill up.
6. Line up the shells in the pan
7. Ladle sugo on top of the shells, make sure they are well coated and there is about an inch or two of sauce on bottom of pan
8. Sprinkle mozarella and parmigiano
9. Cover with tin foil and bake in a 375 oven for about 35 minutes. You will  know it is done when the sauce gets bubbly and it is completely warmed through.
10. Turn off stove and uncover for last 10 minutes to crisp up top and allow pasta to absorb the sauce. 

Pronto per mangiare

Fatto Con amore,

Elena 💜