Stuffed Shells

The ricotta filling. 

Last night I had a dinner party for 5 of my close friends. I love throwing dinner parties for two reasons: 1. I get to catch up with friends who I might usually only see out and about. 2. I get to try out new recipes. 


I went with a recipe for Stuffed Shells from 101cookbooks. Unfortunately, because the local gourmet market here doesn't sell shells, I had to use tubes instead. However, it didn't make much of a difference. 

The stuffed tubes. 

                                                                                   I served it with a side salad of mixed greens, shredded carrots and red cabbage (my favorite), followed by a dessert of yogurt gelato and fresh honeydew melon. All in all, it was a delicious meal if I must say so myself. 




These tubes are a little difficult to fill, and it's a little time consuming, but I'd say it's worth it. This is definitely a dish to serve to guests- not sure if it's worth going through the trouble for a simple dinner for two at home. 

The final product; apologizes for the low photo quality. 

                                                                                    What really elevates this dish is the lemon zest in the ricotta filling. It adds a nice bright punch of flavor. I think next time I might add some spinach to the ricotta filling as I like everything more when it has greens in it, but that's just me. 


Note: While it may be tempting to finish the dish with a layer of shredded cheese, don't. The ricotta filling is more than enough and it's lighter without.