Cottage Cheese Jumbo Shells with Roasted Pepper Sauce

Cottage Cheese Shells with RRP Sauce

Prep Time: 30 Min
Cook Time: 1 Hr 30 Min +

​Yields: 4 + Servings

What You Need

• 24 Jumbo Shells
• 1 C Pizza Mozzarella, shredded

FILLING

• 500g 4% Cottage Cheese (Full Fat)
• 1/4 C Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Fresh Basil, torn / sliced thinly
• 1/4 C Grana Padano, finely shredded
• 1/2 C Pizza Mozzarella, shredded
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced
• 1 Large, Free-Range Egg
• 1/4 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 Tsp. + Himalayan Salt

SAUCE

• 1/4 C EVOO
• 3 cloves Garlic, crushed 
• 1 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 Yellow Onion, diced
• 2 stalks Celery, diced
• 1 Carrot, peeled & diced
• 1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
• 1 C White Wine ( I used Pinot Grigio)
• 500ml jar Roasted Red Peppers (including liquid)
• 1 C Water
• 2 Tbsp. Prepared Red Pesto (optional)
• Handful Fresh Basil
• 1/4 Tsp. + Himalayan Salt
• Cracked Pepper

GARNISH

• Grana Padano, Fresh Basil, Parsley

Directions

• FILLING - Mix everything together except the egg, in a large mixing bowl. Taste your filling and adjust the salt if needed. Fold in the egg, cover, and refrigerate until assembly.
• Bring a large pot of cold, heavily salted water to a boil and leave covered once boiled.
• SAUCE - Begin heating the EVOO, garlic, and pepper flakes, in a medium sized pot set to just about medium heat. Once heated, stir and let everything sizzle together for a minute or so before adding the carrot, onion, celery, and a good pinch of salt & pepper. Stir and cook about 8 - 10 minutes. Make a well in the center of the pan and drop in the tomato paste. Let it sizzle for 30 + seconds before stirring everything together and continuing to cook another 2 minutes.
• Pour in the wine and let that simmer until reduced by about 2/3. Pour in the roasted peppers + liquid and water, and bring the sauce to a boil. Once boiled, add the 1/4 tsp. salt, fresh basil, and prepared pesto. (I had an open jar in the fridge and decided to add it. You're fine to omit if you don't have it accessible or simply sub any pesto you have on hand) Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook 25 minutes. Once it's ready, blend the sauce in your Vitamix blender or use an immersion blender until smooth and gorgeous. Taste and add additional salt if needed.
• Cook the jumbo shells until al dente. Strain and let them cool until you can handle them comfortably. I did not rinse them because I wanted that starch for the sauce.
• Preheat oven to 375 F​

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• ASSEMBLY - Add your filling to a piping bag. Cup the shells in one hand and pipe the filling in to them with the other until nice and full. You should get roughly 20 stuffed shells. We cook 24 in case of any breaking / extra filling at the end. Ladle sauce in to a 7" x 11" baking dish to coat the bottom of the dish. You want a nice bed of sauce to nestle the shells in to. Assemble the shells stuffed side up in to the baking dish until they're all nestled in there. Ladle sauce over the shells and top with the 1 C pizza mozzarella. 
• Cover and bake 25 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake 20 - 25 minutes until bubbly, melty, and delicious. Carefully remove the dish and set it on to a cooling rack for 5 or so minutes before serving.
• Serve shells garnished with heaps of grana padano, fresh parsley, and / or fresh basil. ENJOY!
• Store remaining shells in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days. 

HAPPY VEG