Pesto & Cheese Stuffed Shells

By ezunich

Ingredients

• GARNISH:
• 14 dry jumbo pasta shells (2 oz.)
• Sauce
• 1/4 cup grated onion
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs tomato paste
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 can diced tomatoes in juice (14.5 oz.)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Filling
• 3/4 cup purchased refrigerated pesto (7 oz.)
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 1/4 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
• 2 tsp minced lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbs shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 2 tbs shredded Parmesan
• 2 tbs thinly sliced fresh basil

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°. Coat an 8x8-inch ovenproof baking dish with nonstick spray.

Cook shells in a pot of boiling salted water just until pliable, 8-9 minutes. Rinse shells with cold water; drain.

For the sauce, sweat onion in oil in a saute pan over medium heat until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add tomato paste, garlic, and Italian seasoning; cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

Stir in tomatoes; cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Season sauce with salt and black pepper. Cover bottom of prepared dish with a third of the sauce.

For the filling, combine pesto, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, zest, and pepper flakes; season with salt.

Stuff each shell with a heaping 1 tbs filling and arrange in prepared dish, cheese side up. Pour remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle 2 tbs mozzarella and 2 tbs Parmesan over top of shells. Bake shells until beginning to brown, 25-30 minutes.

Garnish each serving with basil.