Serves a Crowd

Stuffed Shells with Creamy Tomato Parmesan Sauce

by:
January 19, 2010
4
1 Ratings
Stuffed Shells with Creamy Tomato Parmesan Sauce
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

One night while at my parents' for dinner my dad prepared a stuffed shell dish that was just delicious. It then dawned on me that I rarely experimented with creating this type of meal and thought I should give it a go! This recipe is one of the many I dreamt up...very simple but that's often is best! —JennT1981

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 splash cooking spray
  • 6 cups water, for boiling
  • 16 ounces jumbo pasta shells
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 dash salt
  • 1 dash cracked pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 2 cups ricotta, whipped with a fork
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 dash salt
  • 1 dash cracked pepper
  • 1/2 cup parmesan, freshly grated
  • 1/2 cup marinara
  • 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a large pot bring enough water to a boil to cook shells until al dente, about 7 minutes.
  3. Drain without rinsing and set aside to cool.
  4. In a large skillet heat oil over medium and add garlic and onion.
  5. Cook just until tender, 3 to 5 minutes being careful not to burn garlic.
  6. To same skillet add ground beef and cook until no longer pink, about 8 to 10 minutes, season with thyme and salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Drain and place in large bowl and set aside.
  8. In a small bowl combine ricotta and eggs and whip with fork to mix thoroughly. Set aside.
  9. In a medium sauce pan heat butter over medium and add flour.
  10. Whisk and cook about 1 to 2 minutes.
  11. Slowly pour in milk whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming.
  12. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
  13. Season sauce with nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir in both parmesan and marinara.
  14. Combine ground beef and ricotta mixture and begin stuffing into shells.
  15. Place stuffed shells into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and pour sauce over the top evenly.
  16. Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until golden and bubbly.
  17. Let rest 5 minutes before serving and garnish with fresh parsley.
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