Stuffed shells are technically Italian food.

The best thing I read at work this week was an email exchange between two of my favorite co-workers, in regards to a work dinner we had tonight.

Co-worker 1: mmmmmmmmmm veal.
Co-worker 2: yes yes but which kind of veal?
Co-worker 1: the most tortured kind they got.

This is amusing to me on a couple of levels: a) co-worker 1, up until about two or three months ago, was a vegetarian for years and years and is now some sort of hardcore meat eater, and b) veal makes everyone react like that! Well, maybe not exactly like that, but veal is one of those meats that makes people either kinda squeamish or drool with the thought of the tender, tender meat melting in your mouth if it’s prepared properly. Me, I’m not so much with the veal love, but my husband is – which brings to me to my point [see, you knew I'd get to it eventually]: the stuffed shells I made recently were made completely with veal, instead of my usual go to of a mixture of pork, beef and veal.

In continuing with my bastardization of foods from a variety of countries, I bring to you “Stuffed Shells alla Michelle” [see, because I italicized it, you're supposed to assume that it's in another language]. I’ve been making stuffed shells for years because it’s always a crowd-pleaser and it’s a pretty easy dish. Since this time I made my own sauce to accompany it instead of slopping on some store bought stuff [don't hate], I decided the dish was now worthy of it’s own entry. Plus, wtf, it’s been two weeks? We’re slacking.

Sauce:

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 carrots, peeled and grated finely
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 – 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt

The sauce is the easy part, and for some reason, I feel like this is some of the best sauce I’ve made, yet it was so incredibly simple. First cook the diced onions in the olive oil, just until they start to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Dump in the tomatoes, and mix to combine. Add in the carrots, to cut the acidity of the tomatoes; depending on how acidic the tomatoes are will determine if you add in the teaspoon of sugar.

Next add in the salt, and then lastly slowly add in the cayenne pepper to your tastes. Now, this is where the husband and I differ [I say that like it's our only difference - ha!]: I like some spice to my food, but he doesn’t. If I had only done a teaspoon of the cayenne, I feel like it would have added some depth of flavor and a bit of a bite. Two teaspoons was a noticeable flavor and one I felt was welcome, given the heaviness of the stuffed shells. Either way, add it slowly and see how you want it to be. You can also omit the cayenne and add in your fresh or dried herb of your choice – basil, thyme, rosemary, etc. It’s a good base that you can build on as you go along.

Stuffed Shells:

1/2 box of large pasta shells
3/4 – 1lb ground meat of choice (veal, in this case)
1/2 – 3/4 cup of ricotta
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the shells according to the package directions. Brown the meat, seasoned with salt and pepper. Drain and cool the shells. Mix the meat with the ricotta, until you have a rich and creamy mixture of the two; adjust seasonings. Stuff about 1.5 tablespoons of meat and ricotta mixture into each shell.

To get the dish ready for baking, you need to cover the bottom of a 7×11 pan with sauce. Lay the shells in the pan open side up and line up evenly. Once all of the shells are in the pan, drizzle more sauce over the top, and finish off with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Cook in an oven pre-heated to 350 for about 35 – 40 minutes.

Thank me later.