Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells
Description
If you tried the Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells and loved them, then you also need to make this. Also by Giada De Laurentiis and in her book Everyday Pasta, these work the same way and freeze beautifully – no one will ever know you cheated with sauce from a jar. 1 recipe of filling = 36 shells.
Ingredients
1 (500 g) box jumbo pasta shells – about 40 shells
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped AND 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 t. EACH salt AND freshly ground pepper – you’ll need this twice
1 can (398 mL) artichoke hearts, drained (5 to 8 count)
2 c. (500 g) ricotta cheese AND 3/4 c. grated Parmesan
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. EACH fresh basil, chopped AND fresh parsley, chopped
2, 739 mL jars of marinara sauce
1 1/2 c. grated mozzarella
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 and bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta shells for 4 to 5 minutes until just tender, drain and then while they’re still hot, set them out individually on your counter or on a baking sheet (it really sucks if they stick together!).
In a large skillet cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften then add the ground turkey, salt and pepper.
Cook until the turkey is no longer pink, stirring often to break it up as much as possible, then stir in the artichokes. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow it to cool for a bit.
In a large bowl, combine the turkey mixture, ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, basil, parsley, salt and pepper.
Grease a large casserole (I used my lasagna pan), and pour in about 3/4’s of a jar of sauce to cover the bottom. Carefully fill each shell with the turkey mixture and lay it on the sauce. Because I doubled it, I put the ones that held together perfectly on a cookie sheet so that I could freeze them individually before putting them in dinner-sized freezer bags.
Fill the shells until your pan is full and you’re out of stuffing then pour the rest of the sauce over all and cover with the mozzarella.
Bake for about 30 minutes until everything is heated through. This is great with a big Caesar salad!
- Category: Ground Turkey/Chicken, Pasta, Freezes Well
