Squash Stuffed With Ricotta Cheese Recipes

SQUASH BLOSSOMS STUFFED WITH RICOTTA

Steps:

• Make tomato sauce:
• Cook garlic and red pepper flakes in oil in a 2-quarts heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, water, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Prepare squash blossoms:
• Stir together ricotta, yolk, mint, 1/3 cup parmesan, and 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
• Carefully open each blossom and fill with about 2 rounded teaspoon ricotta filling, gently twisting end of blossom to enclose filling. (You may have filling left over.)
• Whisk together flour, remaining 1/3 cup parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and seltzer in a small bowl.
• Heat 1/2 inch oil to 375°F in a 10-inch heavy skillet. Meanwhile, dip half of blossoms in batter to thinly coat. Fry coated blossoms, turning once, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain. Coat and fry remaining blossoms. (Return oil to 375°F between batches.) Season with salt. Serve with tomato sauce.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH-STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Add the squash, shallot and garlic to a baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the thyme, sage, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper and toss again. Roast until the squash is tender and light golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Add the pasta shells and cook until al dente according to the package directions. Drain and let cool.
• Squeeze the roasted garlic into a small food processor or blender, add the squash, shallot and vegetable broth and puree until smooth.
• Mix together the spinach, cream cheese, ricotta, red pepper flakes, 2/3 cup of the Parmesan and 1 tablespoon salt in a large bowl. Stuff about 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture into each shell; set aside.
• Add the pureed squash mixture, heavy cream and butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, whisking frequently, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the nutmeg, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the remaining 1 1/3 cups Parmesan.
• Spread the cheese sauce into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange the stuffed shells in the baking dish seam-side up, shingling them so they all fit (you should have 5 shells along the short side and 6 shells along the long side). Top with the mozzarella. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and sage before serving.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND RICOTTA STUFFED PASTA

Steps:

• Both the Ricotta and Butternut filling can be made beforehand and frozen, cutting down on prep time.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Line a large baking sheet with aluminium foil and coat with cooking spray.
• With a strong knife remove the stem from the squash.
• Slice the squash in half end-to-end and remove and discard the pulp and seeds.
• Cut each portion in half creating four pieces which are about the same size.
• Place the squash wedges on the baking sheet with the cut side up.
• Coat each piece of squash with butter and salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover the wedges with aluminum foil and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.
• Remove the wedges from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Remove the flesh from the skin and mash in a medium bowl adding a pinch of nutmeg.
• In a large bowl combine the ricotta, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons of your pesto,1/4 cup of your parmesan, salt and pepper to taste as well as a little bit of nutmeg.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add pasta shells cooking for 8 minutes (until al-dente).
• Drain pasta and cool in cold water, drain again of all water.
• In a 9x13 inch casserole dish pour tomato sauce and water adding the 2 tablespoons of remaining pesto.
• Divide and stuff the mashed squash into the bottom part of the pasta shells.
• Top the squash with the ricotta mixture, stuffing the pasta shells as full as you can.
• Set the stuffed pasta shells stuffed side up on top of the tomato sauce.
• Sprinkle the shells with the remaining parmesan cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until the pasta is golden on top.

RICOTTA STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• With sharp knife, carefully cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds with a spoon.
• Rub flesh with olive oil and sprinkle with the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom and salt.
• Wrap each half in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until flesh is fork tender. Remove from oven and unwrap squash.
• To toast nuts, place in an ungreased pie tin and bake at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes.
• Mix ricotta with honey, oregano, and hazelnuts.
• Evenly fill the baked squash halves with the ricotta mixture.
• If you want the ricotta to be warm, return to oven, on baking sheet, for 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Sprinkle with wheatgerm and black pepper and serve. Note, squash can be cooked a day in advance and reheated with the ricotta mixture at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.