Sunday, April 27, 2008

Stuffed Shells

This is a nice time of year when it's warm enough that you want to get outside as much as you can during the day, but it's not yet too hot to turn on the oven in the evenings. You can go out and play all day, then when it's time to go inside, make a satisfying and comforting meal.

This dish fits nicely into that kind of scheme. You really need to like roasted red peppers to enjoy this. It's kind of a strange combination. It's almost like a hummus filling pasta shells, but it was tasty and easy to put together. It is good accompanied by a green veggie. I sauteed some green beans in olive oil and garlic.

As a side note, most recipes that use tomato paste typically only call for a tablespoon. Then, you're left with the rest of that little can that always gets thrown out. Each time, I save it, thinking I'll force myself to use it in the next couple of days, but then I never do. If anyone has any ideas on how to avoid this, please let me know!

Shells Stuffed with Roasted Red Peppers and Chick Peas
12 shells
19 oz. can garbanzo beans
1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers (You can use jarred. I instead got some from the olive and cheese section in Whole Foods)
3 cloves garlic
3 tblsp dried bread crumbs
small handful of walnuts
1 tblsp tomato past
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
14 1/2 oz. can stewed tomatoes
8 oz. can tomato sauce
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tblsp chopped parsley

1. Cook shells and drain.
2. In food processor combine garbanzo beans, roasted red peppers, garlic, bread crumbs, walnuts, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, salt and cayenne, process until almost smooth, but with some texture.
3. In baking dish, combine tomatoes, tomato sauce and coriander.
4. Spoon mixture into shells. Lay filled shells on top of sauce in dish. Spoon some sauce over top.
5. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.
6. Uncover, sprinkle with mozzarella and bake for 4 minutes. Garnish with parsley.

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