Stuffed Shells With Crispy Pancetta And Spinach Recipes

STUFFED SHELLS WITH CRISPY PANCETTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain pasta. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and allow to cool before stuffing.
• Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl.
• Add the spinach, onion, garlic, parsley, ricotta cheese, asiago cheese, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
• Stuff the shells with about 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture each and place the stuffed shells in a large, buttered baking dish.
• For the sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the cream and bring to a simmer.
• Turn the heat to very low and add the 2 cups asiago cheese, parsley, and pepper. Stir until the cheese is dissolved.
• Pour the sauce over the shells. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup asiago cheese.
• Bake, covered, until golden on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

SHELLS WITH CRISPY PANCETTA AND SPINACH - GIADA DE LAURENTIIS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Shells:.
• Boil large pot of salted water over high heat.
• Add pasta and cook until tender but firm to bite, 8-10 minutes.
• Drain pasta.
• Warm olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.
• Add pancetta, cook until lightly golden, about 5 minutes.
• Remove pancetta with slotted spoon to large bowl, let cool.
• Add spinach, ricotta and asiago cheeses, pepper and nutmeg to bowl.
• Stir to combine.
• Stuff shells with about 2 TBS. of spinach mixture.
• Place shells in large buttered baking dish.
• Sauce:.
• Melt butter in medium saucepan.
• Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Add cream and simmer.
• Turn heat to very low and add 2 cups of asiago cheese, parsley, and pepper.
• Stir until cheese is melted.
• Pour sauce over shells.
• Top with remaining 1/4 cup asiago cheese.
• Bake until golden on top, about 25 minutes.
• Remove and serve immediately.

SPINACH-RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; season with salt. (You should have about 4 heaping cups of sauce.)
• Make the stuffed shells: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook as the label directs for baking, about 9 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then finely chop.
• Put the spinach in a large bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir until combined.
• To assemble, spread about half of the sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish. Evenly fill the shells with the spinach-ricotta mixture using a spoon, or pipe it in using a pastry bag. Arrange the shells side by side, open-side up, in the baking dish on top of the sauce, then top with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through and the sauce is simmering around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until any shells or cheese poking through the sauce are lightly browned in spots, about 10 more minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

STUFFED SHELLS FILLED WITH SPINACH AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Fill a bowl with ice water. Blanch the spinach for no more than 20 seconds, just until wilted, and transfer to the ice water, then drain. Squeeze out excess water. Bring the water in the pot back to a boil and add the pasta shells. Cook al dente, about 10 minutes, and drain and toss with the olive oil. Set aside.
• Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic. When the garlic is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the spinach and pulse to chop finely. Add the ricotta and the egg and process until well blended. Add 1/3 cup of the Parmesan, the chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse until well blended.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a large baking dish or two 2-quart dishes. The shells should fit into the dish in one layer. Fill each shell with a scant tablespoon of the filling. Arrange in a single layer in the baking dish. Top with the tomato sauce and cover the dish with foil.
• Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the heat, sprinkle on the remaining Parmesan, and serve.