Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells

This was actually my first time making these, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do a butternut squash sauce, and add them to the filling, or just the sauce, or just the filling. I did both and wasn’t disappointed!

Also, a few pro-tips for you…. (1) when you cook your noodles, drain them and dump them on a large baking tray to cool. If you see any that are stuck together, or nested inside one another, separate them now! If they cool and are stuck together they will only be usable for tearing apart to dip in the sauce and eat while cooking. Maybe that’s not the worst thing though! (2) yes, I am adding panko to my filing. You can also use breadcrumbs, but this essentially soaks up excess liquid and maintains a really good filling texture, avoiding the mushy-filling situation.

Ingredients

Prep time: 60 minutes

Cooking time: approx. 20 minutes

Yield: 24 shells

• 1 box shells

• 1 large shallot, quartered

• 1 clove garlic

• 2 tsp olive oil

• 20oz butternut squash, cubed

• 1/4 tsp thyme

• 1/4 tsp sage

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 1/4c vegetable broth

• 2c heavy cream

• a pinch of nutmeg

• a pinch of cinnamon

• 3 tbs butter

• 2 c parmesan cheese (1 1/2c for the sauce, 1/2c for the shells) + additional for topping

• 16oz whole milk ricotta

• 1 1/2c mozzarella cheese, cubed

• 2.5 oz spinach

• 1/2c panko

Making the Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 425F

2. Cube the squash, quarter the shallot, and place in a mixing bowl.

3. Add the olive oil, garlic, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper

4. Stir to evenly coat the squash and place on a lined baking tray. Roast for 30 minutes and set aside to cool. Reserve 1/2c of the squash for the shell stuffing

5. Once cooled, add the vegetable broth and puree in a food processor.

6. Place the pureed squash in a saucepan, add the heavy cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. Cook over medium heat and whisk until thick. Add in up to 1 1/2c parmesan cheese, stir to incorporate.

Making the Shells

1. Boil water and cook shells for 9 minutes. Drain, and lay on a try to cool. Separate any stuck shells now! If they cool, you’ll never get them unstuck and will not have enough to fill.

2. pre-heat oven to 400F

3. Saute spinach in a few tbs of water until cooked down. Drain any remaining liquid and pat dry. The drier the better as you don’t want this to make your shell stuffing soupy (and it will).

4. In a mixing bowl combine the ricotta, 1c mozzarella, 1/2c parmesan, spinach, panko, and 1/2 c reserved butternut squash from above.

5. Stir everything together until well combined. Line your baking dish with about 1/4 inch of sauce, stuff shells and place in your baking dish. You will have 1/2c of mozzarella reserved, top each shell with a 2-3 cubes of mozzarella and about 1 tsp of sauce.

6. Bake at 400F for 15-20 min until the cheese on top is melted and the sauce is bubbling.