by: Tieghan Gerard
Cook Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Yield
6 servings
Total Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Yield
6 servings
ingredients
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 1–2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- â…“ cup vodka
- ¾ cup basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup heavy cream
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- ¾ pound jumbo shells
- 3 tbsp Butter, salted
- 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded provolone cheese
- 8 ounces mozzarella, torn
- fresh basil, chopped for serving
directions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and oregano. Cook until the shallot begins to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes, cooking until thickened, about 4–5 minutes. Stir in the vodka, and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup pesto and then the cream—season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook according to package directions until al dente. Just before draining, reserve 1-½ cups of the pasta cooking water. Drain.
- To the vodka sauce, add ½ cup pasta cooking water and the butter, stirring until the butter has melted. Add the basil. If needed, thin the sauce with additional pasta cooking water.
- In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, provolone and ½ cup pesto.
- To assemble, spoon 3/4 of the vodka sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Working with one pasta shell at a time, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture into each shell, placing the filled shell into the baking dish as you go. Spoon the remaining vodka sauce over top of the shells. Add the mozzarella.
- Bake 20–25 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned on top. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh basil.
