Homemade Stuffed Pasta Recipes

GIANT STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta shells in boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir mushrooms and garlic in hot oil until mushrooms are soft, about 7 minutes. Stir spinach and thyme into the mushroom mixture; season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir the mixture until the spinach wilts. Remove the skillet from heat and drain any excess liquid; transfer drained mixture to a large bowl.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Mix ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese with the spinach mixture; season again with salt and pepper and stuff into pasta shells.
• Arrange stuffed shells into a 9x11-inch baking dish. Pour pasta sauce over the shells; top with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is melted and the shells are hot, about 30 minutes.

STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cheeses and spinach; stuff into shells. Arrange in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over the shells. Cover and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese after baking.

HOMEMADE STUFFED PASTA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Pulse the flour and a big pinch of salt in a food processor a few times. Beat the whole eggs, egg yolk and olive oil in a measuring cup and slowly pour into the food processor with the machine running; process until the dough forms a ball. (If the dough is too sticky, pulse in more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.
• Make the filling: Stir together the ricotta, Parmesan and Pecorino in a bowl. Transfer to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag and snip a corner.
• Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Wrap 3 of the pieces individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Lightly flour the remaining piece of dough and feed through the widest setting on a pasta maker, then fold in half and feed it through again. Move to the next setting and feed the dough through, lightly flouring as needed; repeat until you reach the third-to-last setting. (You should be able to see your hand through the dough.)
• Lay out the sheet of dough on a lightly floured surface. Trim each end so the sheet is about 2 feet long. Halve the dough lengthwise and cut into about 2 1/2-inch squares. Pipe about 1 teaspoon filling on the center of each square. Run a damp finger along the edge of half of the square, then fold over to make a triangle, pinching the edges to seal. Set the triangle on a floured surface. Repeat with the remaining squares. Take one triangle and, with the fold at the bottom, moisten one of the bottom corners and wrap both bottom corners around your pointer finger like a ring, pinching the corners together to seal; transfer to a floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining triangles, then cover the baking sheet lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Repeat the process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough and filling. Refrigerate the pasta, covered, until ready to cook.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 4 to 5 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and toss with your sauce, adding the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen.