Tuesday, November 21, 2006

variations on a theme

"I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation."
-Madam Benoit
To say nothing of my intelligence (or not), this is a great lasagna shortcut! It's pretty quick, and not bad-looking, either!
Pesto Stuffed Shells
Prep time: 25 minutes.
Bake time: 40 minutes.
Yield: A lot of food for 2 people, enough to feed 4-5.
You'll need:
  • 1 box Extra-Large Shells (I used Barilla)
  • 1 16 oz. Container of Whole Milk Ricotta (Sargento works!)
  • 1 small jar roasted red peppers
  • 1 small container pesto genovese (basil and garlic pesto)
  • 4-6 slices provolone cheese
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 tbs. butter
  • 2-3 tbs. flour
  • 1/2-3/4 C. Milk
  • 1/2 C. Grated Pecorino cheese
1. Start by putting a large pot of water on the stove to boil.
2. Begin again by making the roux (est. 10 mins):
Melt butter in a small saucepan on LOW heat.
Put 2-3 T flour in melted butter over low heat.
Whisk in flour immediately.
Add milk, blend butter/flour and milk together.
Remove from heat, keep stirring.
Add grated pecorino (and I like to add cracked black pepper), stir until completely blended.
Place back on low heat, add a little more milk (1/4 C.), keep stirring.
3. Open can of crushed tomatoes.
4. Put 2-3 T crushed tomatoes in roux until it turns a light pink.
5. Take pink roux off of heat, pour in the bottom of the baking pan (you will put your shells on top of the roux).
6. Your water should be boiling -- add salt and oil to your water, then add your pasta and follow package directions!
**I recommend cooking the pasta until 1 minute before package-recommended "al dente" cooking time. For each 1 minute the pasta is not boiled, plan on another 15 in the oven. For example, if the package said cook 12-13 minutes for "al dente" I would take the pasta out after 10 minutes, and put it in the oven for 40. Got it?
7. While your pasta is boiling, put the whole container of ricotta in a medium-sized bowl (big enough for mixing).
8. Chop the roasted red peppers and drain the oil off of them. Add them to the ricotta.
9. Add the pesto (1/2 to 1 whole container) to the ricotta.
10. Blend the pasta, the red peppers, and the pesto.
11. When your pasta is done, drain it and let it cool for 2-3 minutes.
12. To stuff your shells, take one pasta shell, and 1-1 1/2 T of the ricotta/pesto/pepper mixture and spoon into the shell. Place stuffed shell on top of the roux in the baking pan.
13. Repeat until your pan is full of stuffed shells! If some of your shells were damaged during boiling, not to worry -- they will still taste great.
14. Spoon the crushed tomatoes on top of the stuffed shells (appx 2 T per shell) -- be sure the shells are covered with but not swimming in the tomato sauce.
15. Place slices of Provolone on top of the stuffed shells. Facile!
16. Place stuffed shells in a 300-325 oven for 40 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and bubbly.
17. Mangia, mangia!
Serve with:
Salad with a balsamic vinaigrette and pine nuts
Italian Red Wine -- Cesanese di Piglio ($10) An AWESOME find!
For dessert:
Italian Sorbetto
When there's bubbly, vodka, and lemons involved -- it HAS to be a good time!
Prep time: 5 minutes.
Cook time: 0 minutes.
You'll need:
  • 1/2 pint lemon sorbet (I like Whole Fruit and Haagen Dazs)
  • 1 cup champagne
  • 1/2 cup vodka
1. Put everything in a blender!
2. Turn the blender on for 1 minute.
3. Pour into glasses, serve with spoons and a silly grin.

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