Stuffed Shells Recipe

Stuffed Shells Recipe (from a blog I can't remember the name of, it was via other blogs).

Large pasta shells 500g
Zest of a medium lemon

Preheat the oven 350F/180C.

Sauce:
several spoons of olive oil
several pinches of salt
a bit of chilli
a whole bulb of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
840g tomato passata, or thereabouts - this is translation from ounces to grams and the original recipe used tins of crushed tomatoes.

Filling:
450g ricotta (I used maybe 200g more)
1 egg, beaten
a pinch of salt
150g mozzarella (I used 100g more), grated
As much chopped parsley as you want.
Chopped spinach like Jenny did was good too.

Finely sliced basil, to scatter on top for serving.

Boil a big pot of water. Cook shells until al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water. Don't let the shells over cook or they'll tear when you go to fill them.

You need a large baking dish. Sprinkle half the lemon zest across the the dish.

To make the sauce:
Heat oil gently in a pan, add garlic, chilli and salt. Stir the garlic around so it caramelises. Don't let it burn. Stir in the tomatoes. Taste for salt and simmer.

The filling:
combine ricotta, egg, salt, grated mozzarella, rest of the lemon zest and parsley or spinach. Mix well, set aside.

Spread about a third of the sauce across the bottom of the baking dish. Fill each shell with the ricotta mix and arrange in a layer across the dish. Spoon some more sauce over the filled shells and start another layer of filled shells...and so on.
Cover the dish with foil and put in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, then with foil removed for 15 minutes (35 minutes all up, judge this for yourself).

Serve with green veg., or a green salad, and some bread.

Craft Camp Salad  Dressing:

1.5 tbsp sherry vinegar (approx)
2.5 tbsp walnut oil (approx)
salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a lidded jar and shake. Pour over green leaves, finely sliced red onion and toasted walnuts and toss. Done. Yum.

Craft Camp Love.