Sweet Potato Stuffed Shells

Despite most of my dishes on this blog, I do occasionally make something that does not include meat! (this is for all you vegetarian friends of mine). My friend Nick posted this to his blog (http://www.macheesmo.com/) back in January and I've been itching to make it for a while now. I've altered his recipe ever so slightly and was really happy with the results. I'm a relatively recent convert to sweet potatoes, and think this is one good way to try them out. Stuffed shells make for great leftovers and this recipe easily will serve 4-6 people. In other words, I'll have lunch for a week!

Sweet Potato Stuffed Shells (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 2 large yams or sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 fresh sage leaves, minced
• 3 TB unsalted butter
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 28 oz can tomato sauce
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 12 oz pasta shells, cooked al dente
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh chives (garnish)

Directions:

Peel and cube yams and boil them in salted water until they are very tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain and mash in a bowl.

Cook shells until al dente and then remove and drain shells.

Dice onions, sage, and garlic and saute in butter over medium heat until onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt.

Add onion mixture to mashed yams with cinnamon, greek yogurt, cream, and walnuts. Stir together and season with salt and pepper.

Add half of the tomato sauce to the bottom of a baking dish. I ended up having to use baking dish because I had a lot of shells. Working with one shell at a time, fill shell with a few spoonfuls of filling. Arrange stuffed shells in baking dish. Once the dish is full, top each shell with extra sauce and a shredded mozzarella.

Cover dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Then uncover and bake dish for another 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Serve shells garnished with fresh chopped chives.