Hello everyone! I would like to introduce myself, I am Rosemary from An Italian in my Kitchen, the new Food contributor to Kim’s amazing blog. Â I am also a Canadian who married an Italian. I left everything to move to Rome Italy and after 20+ years I guess you could say I am finally feeling at home. Â I hope that you enjoy my recipes and decide to give them a try.
The first recipe I am going to share is a delicious pasta dish, Stuffed Pasta Shells. Â An easy, light dish made with a couple of summer fresh vegetables and two cheeses. Â Buon Appetito!
Stuffed Pasta Shells
Ingredients
- 24 large pasta shells
- 2 large round eggplants washed and cubed, remove seeds if seedy, approximately 3 cups cubed
- 6 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 3/4 teaspoon salt divided
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 pound fresh ripe tomatoes chopped
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- pinch of hot pepper flakes if desired
- 4-5 fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella diced
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the large pasta shells to al dente, then drain and rinse with cold water, drain well again. Set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, in a medium-sized frying pan add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, diced eggplant and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally till golden. Remove to a medium-sized bowl and toss with parmesan. Set aside.
- While the above are cooking, in another medium-sized frying pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt and hot pepper flakes if desired. Cook on medium heat, after 10 minutes squish with a fork and continue to cook until thickened.
- In a medium baking dish, drizzle lightly with olive oil, fill the shells with a teaspoon or 2 of the eggplant mixture, top with 2 or 3 cubes of mozzarella, place in baking dish, then finish by covering with the tomato sauce,drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with 2 or 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese. Bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 15-20 minutes (till cheese melts). Serve immediately, top with freshly chopped basil leaves. Enjoy!
Below are a couple of other pasta recipes that I like to make and that you might want to check out.
Looks delicious!