Even
though it’s still 90 degrees outside, I love fall flavors, so this week we had an
autumn inspired pasta dish – butternut squash stuffed shells with lemon sage
brown butter sauce.
I’ve
actually made this recipe a few other times in the past – but the other times I
actually made it with manicotti shells instead.
I actually think I prefer the manicotti since it seems to hold the
filling better – the shells are a bit messier.
But either way, it tastes great.
Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with
Lemon Sage Brown Butter Sauce
(adapted from Proud
Italian Cook)
Shells
& Filling:
- 12 jumbo pasta shells
- 2 cups butternut squash (I used prepared pre-cut squash
which is easier, but you could peel & chop it yourself)
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup fresh spinach (or ¼ cup frozen chopped spinach
thawed & squeezed dry)
- 1 egg
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 lemon – zest and juice
- Salt & pepper
- Grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup butter
- 10 sage leaves
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
2. Toss squash in olive oil and
arrange on baking sheet. Bake for 15-20
minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta shells
according to the directions on the package.
4. Remove the squash from the oven
and allow to cool. Reset the oven to 400ºF.
5. In a large bowl, combine ricotta,
parmesan, garlic, spinach, egg, cooled squash, and zest of 1 lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Stuff the cooked shells with the
cheese & squash mixture and arrange on a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.
7. For the sauce, melt butter in a sauté
pan until golden brown and bubbly. Add sage leaves and fry until slightly
crispy.
8. Remove from heat and squeeze in
juice of 1 lemon.
9. Remove the baked shells from the
oven and spoon the sauce evenly over the pasta.
Top with grated parmesan cheese. We enjoyed ours with red wine & caprese salad!
