cyber5’s Sausage Stuffed Shells

This is a great dish for two, and can be easily increased to accommodate larger groups and even parties! You can make it ahead of time, which I find is easier as you can do it in steps and then just refrigerate it until it's ready to go into the oven.

Ingredients:

• 14 Jumbo Pasta Shells
• 2 large links Italian Sausage (I Used hot)
• 8oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (I prefer whole milk)
• Marinara Sauce (I made my own but feel free to use good stuff out of a jar)
• Small Can Tomato Paste
• 1/4 cup finely diced onions
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Italian seasoning (to taste) or fresh basil & oregano if you have it
• Pepper (black/white/or red) to taste
• Salt (mostly used for the water but may be needed to adjust seasoning in the dish)
• About 8 Black Olives, chopped
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
• Italian Flat-leaf Parsley, some chopped fine, some left whole for garnish

Note: I don't add salt to anything but the pasta water as you should get plenty of saltiness from the sausage and cheeses!

Directions:

Saute the sausage after scraping it out of the casing. As it browns, add onions to soften them and toss the garlic in for about a minute along with 1/2 can of tomato paste. Add salt, pepper, parsley, and Italian seasonings at this point. Stir it thoroughly, so it forms a paste-like consistency that can be easily molded and handled. Simmer for a minute or two to incorporate the seasonings.  Remove from heat, let cool, and then refrigerate so it's easier to handle.

When your meat mixture is chilled, add about a third of your mozzarella and the olives to it, mix well. Now, you're ready to stuff!

Boil pasta in about 5-6 quarts of salted water according to the package directions until al dente (about 10 minutes)
Drain pasta and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. You want the shells to be easy to open without tearing.

Now, pour enough marinara into a baking dish to cover the bottom (for 2 people I use an 8x8 Pyrex dish). Now, spoon filling into each shell and place them in the dish. Once they are all in there, pour marinara on top, put remaining Mozzarella on top along with Parmesan and any more seasonings you might desire.

Preheat oven to 400F and then pop the dish in for 15 minutes! Then, it's just plate and serve, garnished with some of that parsley you reserved.

I like to serve this with a bold red wine.
Buon appetito!

~cyber5