This dish was a HUGE winner for the Waz household. Everyone enjoyed it immensely, and Zander even cleaned his plate- swiss chard and all. I really expected that he would sit with his stuffed shells and pick as many green bits out that he could. But he didn’t, and he devoured every bit of stuffed shell from his plate.
Earning this recipe a top spot in the instant repeater category.
The only thing I didn’t love about this recipe was the shells themselves. I always have terrible luck boiling up the large shells- so many end up shredded or in pieces, so I have to boil up so many more than I actually need, with the hopes that I will have enough in the end. Since this dinner was so tasty, it’s worth the trouble.
I did use more chard than suggested, but I have plenty of it growing in the backyard. The result of that change was that I thought the filling was just a touch on the bitter side from all the greens, so next time I will probably stick with the recommended amount. I think I probably ended up with about 3 cups of cooked chard- it’s so hard to gauge what a pound is when you are harvesting chard fresh from the garden.
For the ham, I purchased ham already cooked and diced for me. Next time I hope to have some leftover ham floating around, as the ham flavor will be more pronounced that way. It really was a great addition to stuffed shells and made everyone happy.
Since it was the heart of tomato season when I made this, I simply used 4 cups of freshly diced tomatoes instead of the 2 cans of fire-roasted tomatoes called for. I’m sure there was a bit of a flavor difference in the end because of that, but I’m sure the roasted tomatoes made it taste even better, so I look forward to using them when the fresh specimens are no longer available. In a time pinch? Eliminate the homemade sauce and use your favorite jarred sauce- I promise I won’t tell.
Ham & Chard Stuffed Shells
from Eating Well magazine, Sept/Oct 2015
Tomato Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 14-ounce cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 cup slivered fresh basil
Stuffed Shells:
24 jumbo pasta shells
1 pound chard (about 1 large bunch)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup diced ham
1/2 cup minced shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
To prepare sauce: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes, water, 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Stir in basil. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
To prepare shells: Cook shells in boiling water until not quite tender, about 9 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Dry the pot.
Rinse chard well and thoroughly pat dry with a clean towel. Separate the leaves from the stems. Thinly slice the leaves and dice the stems; keep separate.
Heat oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the chard stems, ham and shallots; cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the chard leaves and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in vinegar and pepper; let stand, stirring occasionally, until cooled slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in ricotta and Parmesan.
Reserve 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce; spread the remaining sauce in a 9-by-13-inch pan (or similar-size 3-quart baking dish). Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of filling; place in the pan. Spoon the reserved sauce over the shells. Coat a piece of foil with cooking spray and tightly cover the pan, sprayed-side down.
Bake until the filling is steaming and the sauce is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes.