Stuffed Shells

I've gotten out of my cooking and posting groove as of late-- partially because I'm not cooking as much, and partially because, when I do cook, I don't have time to post. I blame it on pre- holiday craziness. But here is a winner-- it was easy, tasted good, my kid (the one who actually eats real food) loved it, and it tasted better reheated! It didn't make as many shells as the recipe said it would (maybe I just over- stuffed my shells), and knowing that it reheats well, I might double the recipe next time and just freeze half.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart Living (I can't remember exactly which one).

1 box (12 oz) jumbo pasta shells

1 Tbsp extra- virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

4 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 red onion, chopped

1 head radicchio, cored and shredded (4 cups)

1 tsp red wine vinegar

12 oz. fresh ricotta cheese (1 1/4 C)

8 oz fresh mozzarella, chilled and cut into small cubes (1 C.)

salt and pepper

5 C. tomato sauce (I used my favorite pasta sauce)

unsalted butter, for dotting

finely grated parmesan for garnish

1. Bring large pot of water to boil. Cook shells for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse. Transfer to a bowl. Drizzle with oil. Let cool.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large high- sided skillet over medium heat. Cook prosciutto, garlic, and onion, stirring, until prosciutto starts to carmelize, 6 to 8 minutes. Add radicchio; cook until tender but not mushy, about 4 minutes. Stir in vinegar; cook until evaporated. Let cool slightly. Stir in ricotta and mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.

3. Pour 2 cups sauce into bottom of each of two 8x12 in. baking dishes. Stuff 32 shells with 1 heaping Tbsp of filling each. Pack 16 shells into each dish. Cover with foil. Freeze if desired.

4 Preheat oven to 375º. Dot shells with butter. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and raise oven temperature to 450º. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 15 minutes more. Heat remaining sauce; serve with shells. Garnish with parmesan.

**Notes**

1. I just used a 13x9 baking dish.

2. I think it would be super good with regular bacon, too.

3. I don't think I let the radicchio get tender enough, so watch that.

4. I think you could probably just put all the sauce in the dish, but it probably gets more golden without so much sauce in there, which is nice.