FRESH SPINACH & RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Yields: 4 servings

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total time: 50 minutes

 

Ingredients:

16 jumbo pasta shells + a few extra shells to allow for breakage while pasta is cooking

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

4 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped

12 oz. ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 ½ cups marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cooke the pasta al dente, according to directions on packaging. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown (less than 2 minutes). Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leaves begin to wilt but still bright green in color. The spinach should be reduced by half. Remove from the heat and let cool.
   
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg and salt and pepper until thoroughly combined. Pour ½ cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a shallow 9×9 baking dish. Stuff each pasta shell generously with spinach and ricotta mixture, and place in baking dish.
4. Cover with remaining sauce and bake covered with aluminum foil for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top begins to brown and the sauce begins to bubble, another 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with a sprinkle of Parmesan.

Note: This dish can be made a day in advance. Keep refrigerated until ready to cook – use same temperature, but add 10-15 additional minutes to cooking time.