Sour cream in stuffed shells? Update.

So I'm making dinner now and I've been using Hello Fresh for the past couple of weeks. I really like it.

Anyway, the recipe tonight is spinach stuffed shells. It says sauté onion and garlic and add the spinach. Then add sour cream? I have never made it with sour cream. I have ricotta as that's the way my mom always made stuffed shells.

I just can't put sour cream in. My Italian grandmother would roll over in her grave.

I'm giving major side eye to this, but It kind of sounds like it might make it creamier.

Is this a thing? Does anyone do this?




Update, lol. Now that I've made it I can explain it better.

OK so the original recipe (from Hello Fresh) called for about a pound of spinach sautéed with onion and garlic. You then add in 1/2 cup of sour cream. This would then make it like creamed spinach. The recipe called for a thicker sour cream (the dairy situation is difficult to explain here; there are a few types of sour cream here-- this recipe used Schmand, like a Creme Fraiche). I kind of get what the recipe writer was trying to do.

Instead I did the sauté and mixed it with ricotta (1lb.), so I'd get more. I wound up adding some of the Schmand sour cream (shhhh, don't tell my mom that I was a bad Italian) because I didn't have enough ricotta.

It was fine and no difference. It went nicely with the Spinach, gave it a citrusy pop. I wouldn't do it with just plain shells, though.

I had extra shells to make a freezer meal, so I sent DH out to get more ricotta and did the rest of the shells the regular way. No sour cream.

Message edited 9/20/2016 4:45:18 PM.

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells?

I'm Italian too and I couldn't bring myself to put sour cream in a stuffed shell. I stuff them with a mix of ricotta and mozzarella and they are delish and perfect!! Sour cream just sounds gross IMO.

Sour cream in stuffed shells?

I used to use a baked ziti recipe that used sour cream and everyone always loved it. I think it had ricotta also. I don't see why you couldn't just swap it out for ricotta if you prefer.

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells?

I have heard of cottage cheese as a substitute for ricotta but never sour cream/

I think I have heard of using sour cream mixed WITH the ricotta to make is creamier but never heard of using it as the sole filling in the stuffed shell

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells?

I also grew up in an Italian household and wouldn't be able to put the sour cream in

Sour cream in stuffed shells?

I've never liked stuffed shells because of the ricotta. Sour cream or a mixture might be good.

Sour cream in stuffed shells?

I don;t understand how that wouldn't be watery? Every time sour cream heats up it turns to water

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells?

It's not the right substitute for ricotta and ricotta already has a nice creaminess of its own. I wouldn't eat any Italian dish with sour cream in it, it's the wrong flavor and the wrong consistency. Ick.

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells?

My grandmother (not Italian ) would add a touch of Sour Cream to Ricotta or Cottage Cheese... just to make it a bit creamier and a little tangy.

I've never done it - only added sour cream when I was making creamed spinach.

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells?

I've been around Italian cooking and have been down. It myself for 35 years and never put sour cream in

Sour cream in stuffed shells?

Not sure who thought of putting sour cream in stuffed shells but I can tell you that is NOT the Italian way to stuff shells.

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells?

No sour cream shall ever touch any pasta, shell or otherwise, said every Italian ever. The same goes for cottage cheese. If you do, you clearly don't know what you're doing.

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells?

Update, lol. Now that I've made it I can explain it better.

OK so the original recipe (from Hello Fresh) called for about a pound of spinach sautéed with onion and garlic. You then add in 1/2 cup of sour cream. This would then make it like creamed spinach. The recipe called for a thicker sour cream (the dairy situation is difficult to explain here; there are a few types of sour cream here-- this recipe used Schmand, like a Creme Fraiche). I kind of get what the recipe writer was trying to do.

Instead I did the sauté and mixed it with ricotta, so I'd get more. I wound up adding some of the Schmand sour cream (shhhh, don't tell my mom that I was a bad Italian) because I didn't have enough ricotta.

It was fine and no difference. It went nicely with the Spinach, gave it a citrusy pop. I wouldn't do it with just plain shells, though.

I had extra shells to make a freezer meal, so I sent DH out to get more ricotta and did the rest of the shells the regular way. No sour cream.

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells?

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells? Update.

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells? Update.

All i know is now I want some stuffed shells!

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells? Update.

Message edited 9/20/2016 5:10:27 PM.

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells? Update.

Posted by NervousNell

All i know is now I want some stuffed shells!

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells? Update.

Posted by klingklang77

Posted by NervousNell

All i know is now I want some stuffed shells!

I have tons in my freezer now. Fly on over

Re: Sour cream in stuffed shells? Update.

Posted by klingklang77

Posted by MC09

No sour cream shall ever touch any pasta, shell or otherwise, said every Italian ever. The same goes for cottage cheese. If you do, you clearly don't know what you're doing.

I explained it more in the first post. I do know what I'm doing, BTW .

I did some reading and it seems Germans (where I am) tend to use sour cream in sauces and pasta dishes. There may be some northern Italian areas (maybe South Tyrol?) that use sour cream with pasta.

Stuffed shells is probably an Italian-American recipe anyway. Probably as Italian as Chicken Parm or something

It was interesting with the spinach. Not a huge difference, but I only added 1/2 cup.