If ever there was a night for some cold weather comfort food, last night was it! I was listening to the sound of ice falling on the patio and it just made me want to cook something warm and delicious. In my family we gravitate toward chili and spaghetti when we have a snowy day, it just seems right. While those are indeed favorites, I wanted to jazz it up a little in the continuing quest to broaden our weeknight meal favorites. Still pasta sounded good…
A quick review of the “pasta shelf” in the pantry revealed a box of Jumbo Shells, it was slightly dusty, but does that stuff ever really expire? It was dusty because the last time I made stuffed shells for my family, they complained that there was no meat in the dish. I think my husband called it a poor man’s lasagna. Well that was going to change. Remember Botticelli’s gorgeous painting, The Birth of Venus - aka Venus on the half shell? I was going for another work of art here: Italian Sausage on the Half Shell! It was a culinary masterpiece.
I wish I was Italian/American, but sadly that’s not the case. My first experiences with Italian food were southern interpretations of casseroles that most frequently involved cottage cheese, ground beef and macaroni. They were my original Italian comfort foods.
Then I went to Italy. Mama Mia! My first taste of fresh pasta, actually it was pappardelle cooked with a lamb ragu, (I remember my entire life by what I ate) just gave me chills. Honestly, how could anything taste so divine? And the cheeses; so many, so delicious. And the gelato, oh my. All this time I thought that spaghetti noodles were fancy food and macaroni was everyday Italian!
The world is a much smaller place today, and innumerable types of pasta, cheese, gelato, and other exotic delicacies are a 10-minute drive from my house. Recipes abound for dishes my grandmother could never have imagined. I take for granted that I can have Italian made Pecorino Romano cheese any time I want to as long as the price tag doesn’t make me faint. That’s ok, but I never want to lose that memory of discovering my first taste of Italy. This “masterpiece” for dinner brought back that feeling back, at least for a few bites! Buon appetito!
Ingredients
Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
½ pound Italian sausage
1 tsp fennel (optional)
½ cup red wine
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Pasta and Filling
8 oz jumbo shells
12 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
6 oz parmesan cheese, grated (reserve about ¼ cup for topping)
6 oz asagio cheese, grated (reserve about ¼ cup for topping)
1 egg
1 cup fresh spinach
½ tsp salt
Directions
In a large pot or Dutch oven add olive oil and sauté onion and garlic for about 2 minutes to soften.
Add sausage and cook until slightly browned.
Add fennel if you choose, and red wine. Cook for about a minute.
Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, sugar, and salt.
Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.
In a large saucepan, cook pasta for half of the cooking time. Drain and rinse with cold water.
To make the filling, combine cheeses, egg, spinach, and salt in a food processor.
Pulse to combine.
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with sauce.
Fill each shell with sauce and place filled side up in casserole.
Top with remaining sauce and reserved cheese.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes until sauce is bubbly.
French bread is marvelous to capture extra sauce!
