Lazy Summer Tomato Sauce
My daughter has been working at a produce stand for the past 4 summers. As a result she frequently comes home with baskets of over-ripe tomatoes impatient to be used. Mind you, I'm not complainin...
This vegetarian recipe uses creamy ricotta cheese (preferably whole milk), most any cheese, and whatever herbs are in your garden--in our case, basil, parsley and chives. Pesto would be terrific in it too. We topped the stuffed shells with our fresh tomato sauce that we make all summer long from tomato "seconds" (bruised and blemished tomatoes, frequently super cheap, ask your farmer for them). If you want to make it a bit heartier, top with our bolognese sauce. Just add red wine. You can use manicotti shells too, which is what is in the photo.
Ingredients
Assembly
- 1 box jumbo pasta shells or manicotti
- Fresh Tomato Sauce (link in recipe)
- parmesan cheese
Filling
- 1 tub (16 ounces) ricotta cheese (whole milk)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped basil, chives and parsley
- 3 ounces Comte or Swiss cheese, grated
- 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- Salt and Pepper
Preparation
1. Boil Pasta Shells until al dente. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. To prepare filling, combine cheeses (except parmesan), herbs, and egg, mix well.
3. Place shells in a baking dish. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into each pasta shell. Cover stuffed shells with 3 cups of Lazy Summer Tomato Sauce (or if you're feeling lazy, a bed of chopped Cherokee Purple tomatoes) and top with grated parmesan.
4. Cover with foil, bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
*You can use your favorite tomato sauce, but we recommend this recipe.
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