Stuffed Shells
These spinach and ricotta stuffed shells are such a comforting, flavorful dinner! To get ahead, you can stuff the shells and place them in the baking dish with the marinara up to 4 hours in advance. Cover with foil and store them in the fridge until you're ready to serve. Then, just bake and eat!
Ingredients
- 18jumbo pasta shells
- extra-virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
- 5 ouncesfresh spinach
- 2 cupsricotta cheese (16 ounces)
- ¼ cupgrated pecorino cheese (plus more for sprinkling)
- 2garlic cloves (grated)
- 1 teaspoondried oregano
- 1 teaspoonlemon zest
- ¼ teaspoonred pepper flakes
- ¾ teaspoonsea salt (plus more for the pasta water)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cupsmarinara sauce* (plus more for serving)
- chopped fresh parsley (for serving)
Directions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- 2
Place the spinach in a steamer basket and set over a pot with 1-inch of water. Bring the water to a simmer, cover, and let steam for 1 minute, until the spinach is wilted. Transfer to a strainer and squeeze out the excess water and chop the spinach.
- 3
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta shells for 10 minutes, until al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
- 4
In a medium bowl, combine the spinach with the ricotta, pecorino, garlic, oregano, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
- 5
Spread the marinara in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with the filling and place in the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with more marinara on the side.