Butternut Stuffed Shells in a Sage Cream Sauce

makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

30 jumbo shells (recipe used Barilla)

1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1/4” pieces (about 2 cups

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 cups whole milk

1 sprig sage

3 tbsp cornstarch

6 tbsp butter

1-15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups Parmesan, shredded, divided

1 1/2 cups Mozzarella, shredded, divided

1 tsp dried sage

Directions

Prepare shells according to package. Use pre bake directions or shave a few minutes off of the cook time.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, toss squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on sheet pan and roast for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

In a medium sauce pan, add whole milk and heavy whipping cream. Add a large sprig of fresh sage. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. remove from heat and let stand for another 5 minutes. Remove the sage sprigs and whisk in cornstarch.

In a large skillet, melt 6 tbsp of butter. Pour in milk/whipping cream mixture. Turn heat to medium and stir until sauce thickens. Add in 1 cup of Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, Mozzarella, Parmesan, and sage. Set aside.

Grease a 9 x 11 baking dish. Pour half of the sage cream sauce into the baking dish. Stuff shells with the ricotta mixture (about 1 tbsp per shell) and butternut squash (between 4-5 pieces per shell). Place seam side up in dish. Repeat for remaining shells.

Pour remaining sage cream sauce over the shells. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups Mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan on top of the sauce. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes.

Optional: to get a little extra brown on the cheese, use your oven’s broil function. Broil for 3-4 minutes. Do not walk away from the oven.