Stuffed Pasta Shells with Tomato-Basil Meat Sauce

Stuffed shells have got to be one of my all-time favorite meals.  In fact, when I need to feed a crowd on occasion, this is my go-to signature dish.  In my opinion, it's some of the best Italian comfort food, so easy to make, and a perfect setting for the healthy addition of good ol' holy basil.

Recently I stumbled across a recipe for grain-free stuffed "shells."  No pasta.  Really?  I was skeptical.  My mouth fell open, though, when I saw the picture showcasing delicate scoops of the traditional cheese mixture decorating the surface of a delicious meat sauce.  I knew I just had to give it a shot.

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Much to my surprise, the dish elicited rave reviews from my husband, and even won me over, despite the rather unpredictable globs of cheese that disgracefully studded the meat sauce on my plate.  No, not the intact, near-perfect scoops of cheese "shells" that I had hoped to replicate.  Because, let's face it, meals are all about presentation, right?  I mean, if you don't have a pretty plate of food, what do you have?  (Yes, I know.  The food should taste good too.)

The best part of that pasta-less meal - and the part that really surprised me -- was that it was still comfort food without the carbs.  Neither my husband nor I missed the pasta shells one bit.

Don't misunderstand me.  I hold nothing against pasta.  Although we limit pasta to maybe one night every other week (or two), we are certainly not "gluten-free" at this house.  In fact, I've got "make homemade whole wheat pasta" somewhere on my mile-long to-do list right now.  However, if I've got to have the carbs, give me a crusty piece of homemade sourdough bread over boxed pasta any night of the week.  You with me on this one?

Now, that grain-free stuffed "shells" dish was a big success.  I've been making it ever since.  But I found it has one drawback: it doesn't transport well.  And as it so happened, I reverted back to my favorite carb-heavy, please-a-crowd staple when I made plans to bring some friends a meal this week.

Because, come on... stuffed shells without pasta?  Sometimes the best comfort food is the kind that's most familiar.

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Stuffed Pasta Shells with Tomato-Basil Meat Sauce

by the Nourishing Herbalist

Ingredients

• 12 oz. box jumbo pasta shells
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb. ground beef or Italian sausage
• 2 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 1 t. ground black pepper
• 2 T. dried holy basil
• 1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
• 30 oz. whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 8 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 egg
• 2 large handfuls fresh sweet basil, chopped
• 2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Cook pasta shells in boiling water for half the cooking time, and then rinse the shells in cold water before setting aside to drain.2. Heat some coconut oil in a skillet over the stove and saute onions and garlic for a couple minutes.3. Add ground beef (or sausage) and brown before mixing in crushed tomatoes.4. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes and then turn off the heat, adding salt, pepper, holy basil, and red pepper flakes, while adjusting to taste.5. Meanwhile, as the sauce simmers, mix together ricotta, parmesan (just 6 oz.), egg, sweet basil, and parsley in a separate bowl.6. Coat the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with about 2 cups meat sauce, and fill each half-cooked pasta shell with the cheese mixture, placing each facedown in the baking dish.7. Cover shells with the remaining sauce and sprinkle on the last of the parmesan cheese.8. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Enjoy!

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 1 hour 10 mins Total time: 1 hour 30 mins Yield: 8 servings