Stuffed Jumbo Pasta Shells w/ Four Cheeses

Rating:

Total Time:

2hr 35 min (15 min resting time)

Prep Time:

30 min

Cook Time:

1hr 50 min (approx)

Ingredients:

For the Filling:

1 pound ground chicken (or pork)

1 pound frozen spinach, defrosted and drained well (or use 1 pound fresh, chopped spinach)

½ cup olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp dried oregano

1 (14.5 ounces) can crushed tomatoes

½ cup ricotta

½ cup mascarpone

Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Cheese Sauce:

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

4 cups (1 quart) heavy cream

1 cup milk

½ cup mascarpone

½ pound cheddar cheese, shredded

1 ½ cups Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To Finish:

2 (8 ounce) packages dried jumbo pasta shells

Directions:

To make the filling:

Heat half of the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.

Cook the onion, half of the garlic, spinach for about 8 minutes until spinach starts to brown.

Mix in the fennel seeds, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 minutes until fragrance is released.

Switch off heat and mix oregano into the mixture. Place mixture in a large bowl and set aside.

Pour rest of the olive oil into the pan. Add ground chicken, remaining garlic to the pan and season with salt and black pepper.

Cook meat on medium-high heat stirring constantly to break up the meat. Stop stirring constantly when meat is no longer pink. Cook until meat is browned in about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until mixture thickens in about 8-10 minutes.

Remove meat mixture from the pan into the bowl with the spinach mixture.

Let mixture cool to room temperature and stir in the mascarpone and ricotta.

To make the cheese sauce:

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat.

Add the onion and fry stirring occasionally until starting to brown in about 6-7 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Sprinkle the flour and cook stirring for 1 minute.

Stir in half the cream. Cook stirring until sauce thickens and reaches a simmer.

Pour in rest of the cream and milk. Cook stirring until sauce comes to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and mix in the mascarpone and cheeses.

Whisk the sauce until cheeses melt thoroughly and sauce becomes smooth.

Turn off heat and sprinkle the nutmeg and clove powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and set aside until casserole is done.

To finish:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Generously butter a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Fill up a large bowl with cold water.

Cook the jumbo pasta shells according to package directions in salted water until al dente.

Use a slotted spoon to remove pasta shells into the bowl with cold water. When the pasta shells are cool lift them out onto a kitchen towel.

Put the filling into a pastry bag (tip not needed) or zip lock bag (cut off one corner) and stuff the chicken and spinach filling into the pasta shells.

Layer the bottom of the baking dish with the pasta shells. Spoon half the cheese sauce over the pasta shells.

Make another layer of pasta shells over the bottom layer. Spread rest of the cheese sauce over the top of the pasta shells.

Cover the pasta shells with aluminum foil and set the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet to catch spills. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil and raise the temperature to 400F. Bake for 15 minutes until browned and bubbling.

Allow baked pasta shells to rest for 15 minutes. Serve.

Tags:

pasta