Every September I can tell when autumn is on its way because my friend Jenna is on Pinterest constantly. After months of being pin-free she’ll suddenly show up in my feed, pinning anything and everything that has to do with Halloween crafts, autumn foods and yes, even Christmas cookies.
I’d give her a harder time about it, but I am a year-round Pinterest user. There is not a month that goes by that I am not pinning pumpkin-spice treats, summer BBQ ideas or yet another macaroni and cheese recipe. One such pin, from early this spring, was a dish that I have been determined to make the second the weather turned cold: jumbo pasta shells, stuffed with ricotta cheese, spinach and roasted squash, topped with sage and brown butter.
From the cheesy baked pasta to the brown butter sauce, it’s practically impossible to come up with a more “autumn” dish. (Unless you’re the guy who wrote this — I’m sure he could come up with something.)
And let me tell you, with every bite I found myself missing the sunshine a little less and looking forward to Halloween, roasted chicken and cuddling on my couch with my kitties. The squash adds the right hint of the season without being too sweet, the lemon zest brings some brightness and the copious amounts of cheese are there just to make you feel loved.
So if you’re still having a hard time adjusting to the fact that it’s almost October, you should make this very soon. I promise it will help!
Here’s a link to the original recipe and here are the changes I made: I used an acorn squash instead of a butternut and I subbed blanched kale instead of the spinach — I like the texture better when cooked. I also added a half a roasted onion, finely chopped, for extra oomph.
Here’s some pictures of the process to help inspire!
Start with the filling:
The filling includes ricotta cheese, roasted squash, lemon zest and blanched kale.
Cook 20-25 each jumbo shells to al dente and then and stuff them:
Adorable!
Place them in a greased pan and bake at 400 degrees:
Once they are hot all the way through (20 minutes or so), make the sauce:
Brown butter, fried sage and lemon juice
Top with sauce:
And enjoy!
Acorn squash and ricotta stuffed shells
That looks delicious and great write-up!
A little late but thanks! Always appreciate it. And I’ll be thinking of you as I head into a four day eat-a-thon in Seattle this weekend. =)
I love that it is an alternative to a tomato based sauce with pasta. Thanks
I feel pretty confident that there’s nothing better in life than browned butter. =)
Looks delicious! Will have to try making this sometime. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading and please do give this a try sometime! It’s the perfect autumn meal. =)
Yum! Though I’m in denial re: fall’s arrival. Eighty degrees forecasted for tomorrow (9/30) and remember I’m in Minnesota. We have a blink of a fall and then it’s all downhill to winter (so not a fan). So while I enjoy your post and recipe and photos, I will make no claim to accepting that summer might possibly be over. Nope. No way. Not here and not me. 😉
Somehow I missed replying to this one — so I’m curious is it still warm? We are having a streak of 70-ish degree weather but I’m not expecting it to last long. It’s pretty chilly in the morning, but it’s not super cold yet. (hope that didn’t jinx me!) I am not a winter person by any means, but I do love fall. =)
These look delicious! My mouth is watering. A great alternative to other stuffed pastas like cannelloni and ravioli. I will definitely be giving this a go!!
Please do! It’s so easy and so delicious! =)
I love this so much. going to make it tonight xo
Yay!! Let me know what you think!
Was great! but in my haste I didn’t blanch the kale, and I think it makes a difference 😦 Also, I added some salt and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Felt right? was delicious 🙂
Oh yes — blanching is key. But I’m glad it still turned out good. =) Nutmeg sounds like it would be great in there too. Next time I make this dish, I’m adding some!