Here’s an easy baked pasta dish that gets big flavor from lentils. Canned lentils are particularly convenient, but you can also cook your own from scratch — you’ll need 1 1/2 cups cooked, drained and cooled lentils for this recipe.
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces (about 30) jumbo pasta shells
- 1 (15-ounce) can lentils, drained
- 1 1/2 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
- 1/2 (16-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 (25-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Cook shells in salted boiling water until just barely tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water. Drain again.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine lentils, ricotta cheese and spinach.
Spread half of the marinara sauce over the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling into each shell and place them open side up in the dish; fit them together snugly, and you should be able to get them all in a single layer. Pour remaining marinara evenly over the top, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes.
Nutritional Info: Per Serving: Serving size: about 5 stuffed shells, 430 calories (110 from fat), 12g total fat, 6gsaturated fat, 35mg cholesterol, 810mg sodium, 55g carbohydrates, (7 g dietary fiber, 13g sugar),23g protein.
Recipe courtesy of our Positive Power Partner, Whole Foods
