The 12-Table Jumbo Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Ricotta
Chapter 3 — The Pastas
This isn't some delicate, whisper-thin pasta from a Tuscan hillside; it is a magnificent, unapologetic masterpiece of the Italian-American diaspora. Built to feed a loud room on a Sunday afternoon, it requires pulling no punches—copious amounts of ricotta, a blanket of low-moisture mozzarella, and a bubbling, garlic-heavy marinara that blisters in the oven. Serve it straight from the Dutch oven to a table flanked by foil-wrapped garlic bread and a few cheap bottles of Chianti.
Before you start
Strain the ricotta cheese.
Place the ricotta in a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl for at least 30 minutes to rid it of excess whey, preventing a watery filling.
Aggressively remove the moisture from the cooked spinach.
Whether using freshly wilted spinach or thawed frozen, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and twist it over the sink until every drop of green water is expelled before chopping it.
Ingredients
- jumbo pasta shells16 oz
- extra-virgin olive oil2 tbsp
- marinara sauce4 cup
- whole milk ricotta cheese16 oz
- fresh baby spinach10 oz
- garlic2 large clove
- whole milk low-moisture mozzarella16 oz
- Pecorino Romano1 cup
- egg1 large
- fresh flat-leaf parsley1/4 cup
- dried oregano1 tsp
- nutmeg1/4 tsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
Method
- 01
Boil the shells to a strict al dente.
Boil the shells in heavily salted water for exactly three to four minutes less than the package directs so they remain rigid enough to stuff and finish cooking in the oven.
- 02
Build the cheese filling.
In a large bowl, aggressively fold together the strained ricotta, dry chopped spinach, half of the grated mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, egg, parsley, oregano, nutmeg, salt, and pepper until perfectly homogenous.
- 03
Lay the foundation in the pan.
Ladle a cup and a half of marinara sauce into the bottom of a wide Dutch oven or a baking dish to prevent the pasta from burning.
- 04
Stuff and arrange the shells.
Spoon two heaping tablespoons of the ricotta mixture into each cooled shell, nestling them open-side up and shoulder-to-shoulder in the bed of sauce.
- 05
Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
Ladle the rest of the marinara over the shells, leaving the cheese domes slightly exposed, then scatter the remaining mozzarella across the entire pan.
- 06
Bake tightly covered with foil.
Cover the dish with foil lightly rubbed with oil so the cheese will not stick, and bake at 375°F for 25 minutes to let the pasta steam.
- 07
Blister the crust under the broiler.
Remove the foil, crank the heat to 425°F or turn on the broiler, and bake for another ten to fifteen minutes until the cheese is a bubbling, continuous blanket scarred with dark, charred spots.
- 08
Rest the dish before serving.
Let the pan sit for ten to fifteen minutes before bringing it to the table so the molten filling can set up and maintain its structural integrity.
Notes
Do not skip the foil-wrapped garlic bread.
This dish requires a vessel to mop up the orange-tinted oil left behind by the mingling of the marinara and the cheese fat. Wrap your bread in foil so the steam softens it while the butter melts all the way through.
Make it ahead of time.
The dish can be fully assembled up to the point of baking, covered tightly, and kept in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours before your guests arrive.
Add meat if you want.
Fold half a pound of crumbled, browned Italian sausage directly into the ricotta filling for an even heavier, unapologetic red-sauce joint experience.
From Cook Red Sauce at Home.