Recipe: Stuffed Shells

With a bolognese sauce that sneaks in the veggies — and can be frozen ahead of time — this delicious baked pasta is the ultimate weeknight dinner for you and your kids.

Ingredients

Bolognese sauce:

• Splash of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 lb ground meat (pork, beef, or veal)
• Splash of red wine to deglaze
• 1 jar of passata
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup - ½ cup milk
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf

Gremolata:

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• Handful of parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Zest of 1 lemon

Assembly:

• 12 jumbo pasta shells
• 1 ball of mozzarella, grated

Preparation

Bolognese sauce:

Add oil to high rimmed frying pan. Sautee ground meat until browned. Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Sautee onion, carrot, celery and garlic in same pan. Once softened deglaze with red wine. Add meat back to pan along with remaining ingredients. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Gremolata:

Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

Shells:

Cook jumbo shells as per package instructions.  Spread layer of bolognese into bottom of baking 9 x 9 inch dish. Add cooked jumbo shells to dish. Spoon bolognese into each shell until full. Top with mozzarella and sprinkle on gremolata. 

Bake at 375F for 15 minutes, broil 2 minutes to finish.