Pumpkin and Pork Cheesy Stuffed Shells Recipe
Try this Pumpkin and Pork Cheesy Stuffed Shells Recipe.
Try this Pumpkin and Pork Cheesy Stuffed Shells Recipe.
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage chopped
- 1 small onion diced
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1/2 small pumpkin about 1 1/2 cups small dice
- 5-6 fresh sage leaves
- grapeseed or other neutral oil as needed
- 16 large pasta shells
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella divided
- Carbohydrate 25.2176925006469 g
- Cholesterol 38.858 mg
- Fat 12.7606575001358 g
- Fiber 4.73237490696917 g
- Protein 16.8116175001132 g
- Saturated Fat 6.72220050007488 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (289g)
- Sodium 7856.79075000012 mg
- Sugar 20.4853175936777 g
- Trans Fat 0.799720500022262 g
- Calories 282 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Peel and cube the pumpkin (In the photos, I sliced, but cubing will cook faster and eliminate the need for you to cube later). Place on a baking sheet (I lined my baking sheet for easy clean up) and toss with 1 tablespoon of oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Nestle 5-6 fresh sage leaves into the pumpkin. Bake for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden and very tender.
- In a frying pan, heat up a touch of oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, until slightly soft. Add the pork, and cook, breaking up, until golden brown and cooked through. Stir in the sage and red pepper flakes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl.
- By now your pumpkin should be nice and tender. Remove from the oven and stir into the pork mixture. Let everything cool slightly so that you can touch it comfortably. Be sure to leave the oven on as you’re going to bake the casserole.
- While the pork-pumpkin mix is cooling, cook the shells according to the package and drain. Typically I never rinse pasta, but in this case, we want to be able to touch the shells, so rinse off in cool pasta.
- Mix 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella into the pumpkin mix and give it another taste and adjust seasoning accordingly, if needed.
- Spread out 1 cup of marinara sauce in a square (8 or 9 inch) oven-proof casserole dish and set aside.
- Stuff each shell with a generous amount of filling, placing the stuffed shells in the sauced dish. Stuff all the shells – you may have leftover filling, which tastes great on it’s own, or you can lay it on top of the shells.
- Top the shells with the remaining 1 cup of sauce and remaining 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella.
- Bake the dish for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is golden. Remove and let cool slight before enjoying!
The Danger of Overfilling Your Casserole Dish
Crowding the baking vessel guarantees uneven heat distribution and soggy pasta instead of proper browning. When doubling this recipe for meal prep, use two separate eight-inch square pans rather than cramming everything into a single oversized roasting pan that will throw off your liquid-to-solid ratios. Utilizing standard baking dimensions ensures the marinara sauce reduces properly around the edges while the mozzarella forms a distinct crust.
Protecting Texture Through Temperature Control
Moisture control dictates the boundary between a cohesive filling and watery mush inside pasta shells. Roasting the pumpkin at 400 degrees Fahrenheit drives off excess water before it ever contacts the ground pork, while rinsing cooked shells in cool water halts residual starch conversion so they remain pliable without tearing.
Managing Small-Batch Yields and Leftovers
Single-portion adaptation requires nothing more than reducing the jumbo shell count to four and saving excess meat-vegetable mixture for omelet fillings the next morning. Keeping the remaining marinara tightly sealed in a glass container preserves its acidity until the exact moment assembly begins.
