Recipe: Gluten-Free Three Cheese “Deconstructed” Stuffed Shells

I admit it.  My friend Jenn and I totally Top Chef-ed this dinner.  And here’s why.  Gluten-free large pasta shells are not available in any store I have ever shopped in.  Believe me…I have looked.  You can get frozen gluten-free stuffed shells, but not just the noodles so you can make your own delicious food.  And, honestly, when you can make something, why buy it frozen?  However, Tinkyáda does make gluten-free rice pasta large shells, which I found on the internet and ordered.

Sadly…they did not make it to my friend Jenn’s in time.  And Jenn had this fantastic recipe she found online, for a Three Cheese and Chicken Stuffed Shells dinner we had planned to make, sans chicken for my vegetarianism (or vegetinarianism as my roommate says).  This was now a slight problem without our pasta base.

So, we improvise, adapt and overcome.  One quick swing by a store and we were in possession of Tinkáda’s brown rice pasta small shells.  The rest of the ingredients…we’d work with and make some kitchen magic happen.  And that’s what we did.

Jenn got the original recipe online at Taste & Tell.  And out of necessity, and my dietary needs, we put our own little spin on it.  So, here is how we worked our magic…

Recipe: Gluten-Free Three Cheese “Deconstructed” Stuffed Shells

Servings: 4
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Bake 40 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces small shell pasta
• 8 ounces ricotta cheese
• 3 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 3 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 3 tablespoons dried bread crumbs (I used crusts from Rudi’s Gluten-Free Multigrain Bread and pulsed them in the food processor)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water, then add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, ricotta cheese, 2 ounces of mozzarella cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, bread crumbs, parsley and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Spray a 2-quart baking dish with olive oil (or non-stick spray…but we used olive oil…as it is gluten-free and the PAM is not) and cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce. Cover the sauce with the cooked noodles.  Then,  spread the cheese/breadcrumb mixture over the noodles.  Cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake in the preheated oven uncovered for 40 minutes; serve warm.

~*~*~

Let me tell you…for basically having to Quickfire Challenge this a la Top Chef…this was a delicious dinner.  Very filling.  Very yummy.  It was like having a lasagna casserole.  We devoured most of it and were quite happy with the way it turned out.  So…stuffed shells these were not, but it was our own little take on a classic dish.  And it worked.  And it was delicious.  And yes…I would totally make it again…in a heartbeat.

And, in case you were wondering, I left Jenn’s on Sunday and my large gluten-free pasta shells arrived on Monday.  Figures.  Well, this just means we can try the recipe as intended the next time I go to visit.  I’m okay with that.