This show-stopper pasta dish is easier and faster than it looks. You can also make it earlier in the day, store it covered in the fridge and place in the oven just before dinner time. Serve with a large green salad.

Bonus Recipe: Be creative and use the filling as an appetizer instead. Toast or grill slices of baguette, drizzle with olive oil and slather on the filling. Garnish with fresh herbs and have a glass of wine in the garden.

Ingredients:

20 – 25 Large Pasta Shells

15 oz Ricotta Cheese

1/2 C Parmesan Cheese, grated

1/3 C water

3 oz Prosciutto, chopped

1 large Shallot or 1/4 Onion, minced

1 large clove Garlic, minced

8 oz Cremini Mushrooms, chopped

1/4 C chopped parsley

2 Tbsp chopped fresh Oregano or 1 tsp dried

1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt & Pepper

12 oz Homemade Tomato Sauce or your favorite Pasta Sauce

In a small skillet over medium heat, add oil, shallot, garlic and mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally until softened and the mushroom liquid has evaporated. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine the ricotta and parmesan cheeses, parsley, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in prosciutto and mushroom mixture until just combined.

Bring a pot of salted water to a gentle simmer. Add pasta shells and simmer for 5 minutes until the pasta is still firm but pliable. Gently scoop the pasta shells from the pot and place on a paper towel lined plate to cool for 1 minute.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread half of the pasta sauce in the bottom of an oven safe casserole dish. Fill each pasta shell with about 2 large tablespoons of filling and place in a single layer on top of the sauce. Drizzle remaining sauce over the filled shells. Gently add water around filled shells. Place on rack in middle of the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the shells soften, about 30 minutes.