Week 29 - Q'parol aka Stuffed Shells

 Q'parol aka Stuffed Shells

Week 29 - of 52

Vegetarian Entree #4

    Yeah, so I'm a big fan of Star Trek. My favorite is Deep Space Nine (DS9), which aired from 1993 to 1999. I'd seen some Star Trek over the years. However, I had never gotten into following any of the series.  That changed only about 4 or 5 years ago. I watched both DS9 and Voyager for the first time, simultaneously. I have re-watched the Voyager series once. I have re-watched DS9 countless times. I have watched all of the series. I greatly enjoy the animated series Lower Decks, which has had two seasons so far and the newest series, Strange New Worlds, which just aired the final episode of it's first season, last week. 

    In my collection of cookbooks, I have the Star Trek Cookbook, published in 1999 and written by Ethan Phillips, Neelix of Voyager and William J. Birnes. The recipes are divided into sections related to each series, from the original Star Trek, Next Generation, Enterprise, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.  This recipe is named as being one of Keiko O'Brien's favorite dishes. Keiko is the wife of Chief Miles O'Brien. Both appear on Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. 

    I bought Jumbo pasta shells and should have used only half the bag. I wished I'd found GIANT pasta shells, because this recipe seems to be for huge shells. I used about twenty or so and if I'd had the GIANT pasta shells, I probably would have only used eight. Because there was a lot of filling, I ended up topping off the stuffed shells with the extra filling. I used Italian seasoning in lieu of oregano and added some shredded white cheddar at the end, with some Parmesan.  

I did serve with a red sauce, which the recipe does not call for, because I wanted sauce, but I think this would be perfectly fine without sauce. Serve with a nice garlic bread and salad. Serves four.

Ingredients:

1 cup ricotta cheese (I used a 15oz container of ricotta)

1 16-oz package of large shells (Like I said, this seems like too much. Just cook them all and fill as many as you want until you run out of filling)

2 cups washed and finely chopped spinach (I used baby spinach)

1 egg, well beaten (Ooops, I forgot to beat the egg before adding, but it was fine)

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons oregano

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 6 cloves, because umm, it's garlic!)

2 teaspoons dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste 

grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, to taste (I used a little shredded white cheddar, along with the Parmesan)

chili pepper flakes, optional

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. While you're cooking your shells, mix up your filling. Mix together your ricotta cheese, feta cheese, olive oil, spinach, and egg until thoroughly combined. Crush garlic and fold into the filling, with 1 tablespoon of oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill your filling mixture, while your shells finish cooking. Spray the bottom of a baking dish with cooking spray or lightly grease with olive oil (The original recipe calls for an 8x8 pan, but the only way that size would work, would be if using GIANT shells). I used a 9x13 pan. Fill your shells. As you fill a shell, set it in your pan and continue until you are out of filling (or space in the pan). Sprinkle the last tablespoon of oregano and the parsley, over top of the stuffed shells. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to ensure that the shells aren't burning. The shells should be a tiny bit crispy at the end of the 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with your Parmesan or Romano (or the cheese of your choice, because hey, it's your dish; make it yours). I stuck mine back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese more. Using a large spoon or spatula, serve shells on a plate and serve with garlic bread and salad, if you wish. If you would like to have sauce with your stuffed shells, you should heat your sauce with the shells are baking. Spoon as much sauce as you want over your shells. Sprinkle with chili pepper flakes if desired. 

Q'parol (Stuffed Shells)

Q'parol (Stuffed Shells) ready for the oven

Q'parol (Stuffed Shells)