Stuffed Shells with Broccoli

This recipe was originally found on Vintage Mixer.

Ingredients:

2 broccoli crowns
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
24 jumbo pasta shells (just over 1/2 box)
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
28 oz (3 cups) Marinara sauce (most jars are only 23 oz or so these days. You want more sauce than that, trust me. Going over 28 oz won’t be wasteful.)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
Chop broccoli crowns into bite sized pieces and toss with olive oil and minced garlic. Season with salt and roast on baking sheet for 25-30 minutes or until slightly brown and crispy. Turn down oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the pasta shells (plus a couple extra for backup). Boil for 8-10 minutes until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, mix together the three cheeses and the salt and cayenne. Once broccoli is done, finely chop and add to the mix.
Pour 1 cup of the marinara sauce into a 9×13 inch baking dish to coat the bottom of the pan.
Once pasta shells are done, drain the water retaining 1/2 cup. Fill each shell with cheese/broccoli mixture and lay in baking dish.
Mix together 1 more cup of marinara sauce with the 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and cover shells.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake 5-10 more minutes or until bubbly.
Serve with remaining 1 cup of marinara sauce.

Tips and Tricks:

Taking the time to roast the broccoli definitely adds a lot of flavor to this recipe but if you’re short on time and just microwave a bag of frozen broccoli…. I won’t tell.
Since this dish takes some substantial prep time, I recommend prepping the dish the night before you bake it.
I will be adding some very well rung-out shredded zucchini from our freezer to supplement the broccoli and help me pretend this is a healthy dish.
I have reserved the 1/2 cup of pasta water to mix with the sauce once, and I have just dumped on the rest of the jar of sauce over the shells and called it good, both options are honestly just as tasty.