Chicken Stuffed Shells With Tomato Cream Sauce

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb pasta shells, for prepared stuffing
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped (or 1 tbsp jar chopped garlic)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, minced
• 2 stalks celery, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1 lb ricotta cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup grated romano cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tbsp dry)
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil, julienne (or 1 tsp dry)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 10 garlic cloves, chopped (or 2 tbsp jar chopped garlic)
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (if you access to some nice tomatoes, you can substitute about 2 lb ripe tomatoes)
• 1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or 2 tbsp dried)
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil, julienne (or 2 tsp dry)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Recipe

• 1 cook shells according to package directions. take 6 minutes off of cooking time. drain well, cool under cold running water, and toss with a minimal amount of olive oil (or cooking spray) to prevent sticking.
• 2 meanwhile, season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. cut into small pieces. heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. cook chicken until golden brown on both sides. drain on paper towels.
• 3 in same skillet, cook garlic, onion, carrot, celery and red pepper flakes. cook 5 minutes. add spinach, and cook 10 minutes more. season with salt and pepper.
• 4 combine chicken and spinach mixture. purée in a food processor or blender. (if you have a small machine, do this in batches.).
• 5 in a large bowl, combine ricotta, egg, romano, parsley and basil. season with salt and pepper and mix well. add chicken purée and combine very well. chill for 30 minutes.
• 6 meanwhile, prepare sauce. in a large stockpot, heat 3 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat. add onion, garlic and carrot, and sauté until onion begins to brown. add tomatoes and purée. stir well. add wine and bring to a boil. reduce heat to low and let simmer 30 minutes.
• 7 after 30 minutes, add parsley and basil to sauce, and cook 15 minutes more. working in batches, purée sauce in blender; return to same pot. (if you have a hand blender, you can use it right in the pot). add cream and simmer 15 minutes. season to taste with salt and pepper. set aside.
• 8 preheat oven to 350 degrees f. spray a large baking pan well with cooking spray. place a thin layer of sauce in bottom of baking pan.
• 9 stuff shells with chicken mixture. (i find a pastry bag with no tip is ideal for this. if you don't have one, try a demitasse spoon.) mixture should come to top of shells.
• 10 place shells in baking pan in a single layer. when all shells are filled, cover with sauce. top with grated provolone, and parsley.
• 11 bake for 20 minutes. cheese should be golden and sauce should be bubbly. let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
• 12 note:.
• 13 you can substitute half-and-half, or evaporated skim milk for the cream.
• 14 the cream sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead.
• 15 the entire dish can be made ahead of time and frozen (either baked or unbaked). cover top with plastic wrap then aluminum foil. if unbaked: remove plastic wrap, and re-wrap with foil. place in a low oven (250 degrees f.) and bake until a knife is easily inserted. then raise heat to 350 degrees f. and bake as above. if baked: remove plastic wrap and rewrap with foil. bake at 350 degrees f. until hot.