A twist on comfort food classic that’s great for feeding a crowd! These pasta shells are stuffed with chorizo sausages, pumpkin purée, basil pesto and three kinds of cheese, including ricotta, fontina and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 16 jumbo pasta shells
- 2 (100 grams/3.5 ounces each) chorizo sausages, removed from casing
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) butter
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dry Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) white wine
- 1 can (398 milliliters/13.45 ounces) pumpkin purée, divided
- 1 1/4 cups (310 milliliters) whole milk
- 1 cup (250 grams) ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup basil pesto, store-bought (or recipe below), divided
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup grated fontina or smoked mozzarella
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 2 large handfuls (about 2 cups) leafy greens, such as chard, spinach or kale, roughly chopped
- Fresh basil and oregano, for serving, optional
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil
- 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley, optional
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1/4 cup (35 grams) pine nuts, pistachios or walnuts, toasted
- 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated
- 1/3 cup (85 milliliters) extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and cook the shells to al dente according to the package directions. Drain and cool on a baking sheet.
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet or oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add the sausage meat and cook, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until golden brown and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan.
- Add the butter and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning, wine and 1 cup of pumpkin purée. Slowly stir in the milk. Add the chorizo with any juices and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Mix the remaining pumpkin purée with the ricotta, egg and 1/4 cup of pesto, pepper flakes and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, toss together the grated cheeses; add half to the pumpkin ricotta mixture. Fill each shell with a heaping tablespoon of the filling.
- Stir the greens through the sauce and carefully nestle in the stuffed shells. Scatter over the remaining cheese and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Spoon the remaining pesto overtop and allow the shells to cool slightly before serving scattered with fresh oregano and basil, if using.
- Add the basil, parsley, Parmigiano-Reggiano, nuts, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic and extra virgin olive oil to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Store in a sealed container for up to 1 week in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 874 |
| Total Fat | 57 g |
| Saturated Fat | 20 g |
| Carbohydrates | 52 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 38 g |
| Cholesterol | 131 mg |
| Sodium | 1133 mg |
Reviews
A really nice change from a tomato-based sauce. I’ve passed on this recipe to several friends who have enjoyed it as well. One change I made was using all the pumpkin in the sauce and none in the filling for the shells. It made more of a visual and flavor contrast which I preferred.
Hint: Use a pastry bag to fill the shells. Much faster and less messy.
Hint: Use a pastry bag to fill the shells. Much faster and less messy.
Delicious! I used a combo of fontina and Parmigiano-reggiano. My only difference was that I had a jar of Sicilian sun dried tomato pesto and I used that. I cooked 18 large shells and the filling fit the 18 perfectly. I made it for a dinner party and it was a hit, I was asked for the recipe as my friends left. Recipe is a definite keeper and I will make this again this Fall, the flavors are so complimentary. YUM!
This was a great recipe. I had a can of pumpkin I wanted to use and got to use it here ! I used jarred pesto and fontina cheese….my family thought it was delicious and rich in flavor.
I’ve not made it…yet. But I am intrigued because I have a few cans of Squash (not Pumpkin) puree. The fact is that, at Thanksgiving, I’ll make a Squash pie, rather than Pumpkin, as my family prefers that. I don’t know if you are aware of the “One Pie” company, which cans (or at least DID, I don’t even know if they’re still in business) both squash and pumpkin. Anyhow, I’ve managed to collect (although I no longer live in “One Pie” country) a few cans of both the squash and pumpkin (treasures!) at grocery liquidator stores. I make an amazing “dump cake” with the squash and a pecan cake mix…but that’s not the point here (although you should try that, even if you have to use pumpkin instead of squash). I’m just wanting to know if you thing the canned squash would work well in this recipe? Thanks!
I acknowledge this show was about using canned ingredients for easier meals. That said, I had sweet potatoes from our CSA farm share I needed to use. So, I roasted the sweet potatoes and mashed them, then substituted them for the canned pumpkin (same weight). Otherwise, followed the recipe completely & was a winner. Posting to let fellow cooks know if you have extra sweet potatoes you need to use, this recipe works as a delicious new twist for sweet potatoes.
It was really good- something different! Used jarred pesto and definitely would have been better if pesto was homemade.