The ultimate Fall comfort dish made with a deliciously cheesy pumpkin sauce and stuffed shells that are filled with all the flavors of Fall!
INGREDIENTS:
- 12 ounces jumbo pasta shells
- 1 pound fresh spicy sausage, casing removed
- 1 cup chopped broccolini
FOR THE CHEESY SAUCE:
- 16 ounces pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup Cabot Mac ‘n Cheese shredded cheese, plus more for topping
- 1/2 cup freshly shredded Cabot Seriously Sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
- 4 sage leaves, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Have a 9×13-inch oven-safe casserole dish ready.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta shells for 7 minutes. While the pasta shells are cooking, put ice and water in a large bowl and set aside. When the pasta is done cooking, drain and put the pasta into the cold ice water and set aside for later.
- To make the sauce, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat then add the sausage. Brown and break up the sausage into smaller pieces. Add the broccolini and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and place in a bowl to cool, set aside.
- In the same skillet, over medium-low heat, add pumpkin puree, water, ricotta, and nutmeg. Stir to incorporate. Once the mixture is bubbly, reduce heat to medium-low then ad the Cabot Mac ‘n Cheese shredded cheese, the Cabot Seriously Sharp cheddar, sage, salt, and pepper.
- Continuing stirring until cheese is blended and melted into the mixture. Remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Pour about 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish. Set aside next to you as you assemble the stuffed shells.
- Reserve 1/4 cup of the sauce. Pour the rest of the sauce into the bowl of sausage and broccolini and stir to incorporate.
- To assemble the pasta shells: remove the pasta shell from the ice water, gently shake off the liquid then using a spoon, stuff the sausage filling into the shell and place into the casserole dish. Repeat until all stuffing is gone.
- Pour remaining sauce roughly over shells then sprinkle additional cheese on top.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until mixture is bubbly and cheese is melted. You can stick the dish under the broiler to get it more brown and crispy, if desired. Just watch it carefully!
- Serve warm and enjoy!
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Image Source:*tablefortwoblog.com
Source:tablefortwoblog.com