Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella, and Meat Sauce

Name: Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella, and Meat Sauce
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 473 milliliters canned chopped tomatoes, drained (from one 28-ounce can); 1 Tbsp cooking oil; 454 grams ground beef; 355 milliliters ounces mozzarella, grated (about; 1 onion, chopped; 59 milliliters grated Parmesan; 340 grams pasta shells; 118 milliliters store-bought or homemade pesto; 2 teaspoons salt

Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella, and Meat Sauce might be just the main course you are searching for. One portion of this dish contains around 46g of protein, 50g of fat, and a total of 955 calories. This recipe serves 4. If you have canned tomatoes, pasta shells, pesto, and a few other ingredients on hand, you can make it. To use up the cooking oil you could follow this main course with the Raw blueberry cheesecake with crumb topping as a dessert. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes about 45 minutes.

Instructions

Heat the oven to 40

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Oven

Oil a large baking dish (about 9 by 13 inches).

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Cooking Oil

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Baking Pan

In a large stainless-steel frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat.

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Cooking Oil

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Frying Pan

Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until the meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes.

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Ground Beef

Onion

Meat

Drain off any excess fat.

Add the tomatoes and salt to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes.

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Tomato

Salt

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Frying Pan

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pesto.

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Pesto

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Frying Pan

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the shells until just done, about 10 minutes.

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Pasta Shells

Water

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Pot

Drain and toss with the sauce. Put half of the pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with half the mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining pasta, mozzarella, and Parmesan.

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Mozzarella

Parmesan

Pasta

Sauce

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Baking Pan

Bake until bubbling, about 15 minutes.

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Oven

Variation: Almost any relatively soft, mild cheese will taste good here. You might try fontina in place of the mozzarella, or even Gouda or Havarti.

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Mozzarella

Fontina Cheese

Havarti

Cheese

Gouda

Wine Recommendation: This robust dish with its meat and tomatoes calls for a gutsy red wine from Italy. A Chianti Classico Riserva's medium body, dried-cherry flavor, high acidity, and moderate tannins will fill the bill perfectly.

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Wine