Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells

               I really liked the way that the Butternut Squash Lasagne turned out.  I made it for the day before Thanksgiving when I had family over.  My dad does not like butternut squash.  He made it abundantly clear.  He however loved the lasagne.  He had three helpings of it in fact.

               The supermarket had a pasta sale the other day.  I saw a box of large shells and thought that maybe I could try the butternut squash filling in them.  It worked of course.  I modified the recipe a little for the shells.  I basically just added Ricotta cheese to the filling.



Ingredients

1. 2 lbs cut up, peeled, seeded butternut squash
2. 1/4 Cup oil (I used a mixture of canola and olive oil)
3. Salt and Pepper to taste
4. 2 Tbl of unsalted butter
5. 2 Tbl flour
6. 1  Cup skim milk
7. 1/4 tsp nutmeg
8. 1/4 Cup unpacked basil
9. 1/4 Cup basil pesto (recipe can be found here.)
10. 1/4 tsp almond extract
11. 16 oz. Ricotta cheese
12. Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese to sprinkle over the shells
13. large pasta shells

 Cook the shells 3 minutes before al dente and place aside.

Toss the squash with the oil and roast in a preheated 400F oven for 30 - 40 minutes.  I like the squash to start to caramelize, so I leave it in close to 40 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Melt the butter and then whisk in the flour.  Slowly add the milk to incorporate.  Then add the nutmeg, salt, pepper, and basil.  Let it thicken and then puree the mixture if you want to break down the basil leaves.

Place the squash in the food processor along with the pesto, almond extract, ricotta cheese, and 1/2 cup of the white sauce.  Puree the mixture.  Taste then for salt and pepper.

In a 9 x 13 dish, place some sauce on the bottom.  Then stuff each shell with the filling until the dish is filled.  Sprinkle with cheese and drizzle any remaining sauce on top.

Bake in a 400F oven covered for 30 minutes.