Sunday night, Katie and I had some friends over for din din – Michelle and Regan.  Aren’t they cute?

And Jav and Katie were there too…

After assessing my current food stock, I had some frozen shrimp, cheap vodka, leftover wine, cheese and pasta. Typical. 

 I decided to try a little experiment and make some shrimp stuffed pasta shells with tomato basil vodka sauce.  I love creamy basil vodka tomato goodness and paired with shrimp made it that much better.  They turned out really well!

Shrimp Stuffed Shells with Tomato Basil Vodka Sauce

Filling:

1 Box uncooked large pasta shells

2 Pounds of raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed

1 Shallot chopped

1 Garlic cloves chopped

1 Tablespoon olive oil

½ Cup Dry White Wine

Salt and Pepper

1.5 Cups Ricotta Cheese Part Skim

1 Tablespoon chopped basil

¼ Cup Shredded Parmesan

Boil pasta shells in salted water until partly tender but still a little firm.  About 7-8 minutes.  Drain and immediately separate shells to a greased baking sheet to prevent sticking together.  Set aside to cool.

Chop shrimp into bite size pieces. 

 Sauté shallot and garlic cloves in the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. 

 Add wine and shrimp. Cook until pink.  Don’t overcook though.

 Drain remaining liquid and combine shrimp, ricotta, basil, parmesan and salt and pepper. 

Set aside.  Make the sauce.

 Vodka Sauce:                              

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Shallot chopped

2 Garlic cloves chopped

½ Cup Vodka (you can use the cheap here. No Grey Goose allowed)

16 oz Whole peeled tomatoes in juice (blended up in blender)

½ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

4 Tablespoons basil chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ Shredded Parmesan

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and olive oil over medium heat in a medium sauté pan.

Add shallots and garlic and cook about 2 minutes.  Add vodka and cook 1 minute more.

Then add tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add whipping cream and basil and cook for 1 minute more.  Season to taste.

Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with a thin layer of sauce. 

Stuff each shell with about 2 Teaspoons of shrimp filling until full.  Stack in baking dish in a single layer and cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until warm and bubbly.  Sprinkle with any remaining basil.

Love,

Lindzee