Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Super Stuffed Shells (Emerile Lagasse)

Our family loves this meal. When you look at this recipe seems time consuming but it is quick and easy. I don't make the sauce I substitute it with a jar of spaghetti sauce. This makes it a lot quicker. 


Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells (18 to 20 shells)
  • 2 cups finely chopped onion
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 pound ground veal (I use ground beef)
  • 1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 15 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows ( I just substitute with Italian seasoning)
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • Basic Red Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2-quart casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pasta shells, and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally with a long-handled spoon to prevent the shells from sticking together. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain.
In a medium skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until very soft, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the ground veal and cook, stirring, until cooked and browned. Add the squeezed spinach and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Add the spinach mixture, the extra-virgin olive oil, Essence, remaining teaspoon of salt, the basil, oregano, and pepper, and stir to combine thoroughly. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the spinach-ricotta filling into each cooked pasta shell. Place the filled shells in the prepared dish.
Pour the Basic Red Sauce over the filled shells and top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, until bubbly, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
Yield: about 2/3 cup
Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Basic Red Sauce:

I usually just substitute this with a jar of spaghetti sauce. It is much quicker and easier. :)

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/2 chopped yellow onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 16 ounces whole peeled tomatoes, broken into pieces, and their juices
  • 16 ounces tomato sauce
  • 4 teaspoons tomato paste
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, salt, basil, oregano, and pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoestomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and sugar and stir well. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until thickened and fragrant, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat and keep warm until ready to use.
Yield: 3 cups

2 comments:

Melinda said...

This turned out great! I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta bc that is what I had in the fridge and I did not use the spinach. My husband and I ate half and then my PLAN was to freeze the rest but my pregnancy brain distracted me and I forgot to put them in the freezer! I am so sad bc this was so good! Will make again!

Becky said...

Very good! I only wish I had used whole milk mozzarella instead of part skim. The part skim doesn't melt as well in my opinion, but it's what I had on hand. I also cheated and used a jar pasta sauce to save time, but it was still delicious! When making this for my family of four, it definitely made enough for leftovers or to freeze.