Hello friends! I’ve got one last recipe for you before Christmas, then its family time. I made these today for Christmas Eve. Being Italian, we do the whole all seafood, no meat Christmas Eve dinner. With that being said, we always have a non seafood, non meat dish and I am always in charge of that. This year I decided on Stuffed Shells with Pesto Ricotta! 

Stuffed shells are great for a crowd and easy to make! This these Stuffed Shells with Pesto Ricotta it is all about the sauce and that ricotta filling. A good sauce is so important and its actually incredibly easy get a good one, its all about starting with good quality ingredients. If you can do it, splurge and get San Marzano canned tomatoes! The taste is absolutely incredible and just a whole lot better then any other canned tomato, it is so worth the extra money! San Marzano tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, onion, basil, salt, pepper and you’ve got yourself a delicious sauce!

The filling for these Stuffed Shells is really flavorful and kicked up a notch using some store bought, good quality pesto. Generally I’d make my own pesto but its not in season and well a delicious jarred pesto works perfectly! The filling is a mixture of ricotta, pesto, grated pecorino romano, egg, garlic powder and pepper.

The pasta shells are boiled until very al dente, or just flexible enough to stuff. A good spoonful fills the pasta shells, placed into a baking dish with some of that fab sauce and its all topped with grated pecorino and shredded mozzarella. Baked until hot, bubbly and golden. Seriously delicious!!