Homemade Stuffed Shells
(Makes about 40 Shell)
The Sauce
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion – Chopped
1 lb. Ground Pork
½ lb. Ground Beef
2 tsp. Garlic Pepper – I use McCormick California Style
2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Black Pepper
⅛ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
6 oz. Tomato Paste
3 Cans Whole Tomatoes – Pureed
2 Tsp. Parsley – Chopped
¾ Cups Grated Pecorino Romano
½ Cup chopped Basil
Filling
4 Cups Ricotta
½ Cup Chopped Parsley
1 Cup Grated Pecorino Romano
2 Eggs – Beaten
2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella (shred yourself. Do not buy preshredded)
½ tsp. Black Pepper
1 Box- Jumbo Shells
Boil water in a large pasta pot and salt it.
In a large saucepan, heat up the olive oil. Add the onions. Cook them for about 7 minutes on a low to medium flame until they become translucent. Add the ground pork and beef. Using a wooden spoon break up the meat into tiny pieces, like you would to make tacos. Cook the meat for about 10 minutes until it browns. Season with the garlic pepper, salt, pepper and the red pepper flakes. Then add the tomato paste. Cook for about a minute mixing the tomato paste into the meat mixture. Add the whole tomatoes that you have puréed. Over medium heat, cook the sauce for about 15 minutes. Add the basil, the chopped parsley, and the grated Pecorino.
Boil the shells. The box had about 40 shells in it. Make sure the shells are al dente. I boiled mine for about 7 minutes. Drain when done and cool.
Preheat your oven to 375°. In the meantime, make the filling. Combine the ricotta, parsley, Pecorino, eggs, ¾ of the mozzarella, and black pepper.
Coat the bottom of a few large oven safe shallow pan (I use Pyrex and needed 4 pans) with the sauce.
Stuff each shell with a heaping teaspoon of filling. Tip- use one hand to open the shell and the other hand to scoop the filling in it. Then put the shell on top of the sauce, open side facing up. Repeat for each shell, leaving an inch between each shell. Top each shell with more sauce, grated Pecorino and the remaining mozzarella. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and put back in the oven and cook until golden brown.
Note you can make the shells a day in advance. But do not top with sauce and cheeses until ready to bake.