Ok, so the ricotta cheese is made and ready to be eaten. But how? I was looking for something different. And I remembered that I haven’t made stuffed pasta shells in a long long time.. There was still enough spinach in the freezer. Pine nuts? Present! This was one of those rare occasions where I really had all the ingredients available without having to run to the grocery store. The good part is that this recipe doesn’t require any elaborated tomato sauce that has to cook for hours.
So, ready to start? Let’s go! :)
Ingredients:
12 big pasta shells
½ can of pureed tomatoes
a few cherry tomatoes
½ chopped garlic clove
salt
red paprika
oregano
2 tbsp of olive oil
3 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese
Filling:
150 g / 5½ oz of chopped fresh or frozen spinach
150 g / 5½ oz of ricotta
1 tbsp of roasted pine nuts
2 tbsp of bread crumbs
½ chopped garlic clove
1 tbsp of olive oil
salt & pepper
* * * * *
Bring a pot with salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta shells 2 min less than stated on the package and then drain well when done.
In the meantime heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic and roast it gently for 1min. Pour in the pureed tomatoes, the halved cherry tomatoes. Season with salt, red paprika and oregano and leave it on the stove at medium heat for about 20min (add additional hot water from the pasta pot, if the sauce gets too dry).
Pour some olive oil in a separate pan and do the same as before with the garlic for 2min. Add the spinach and stir in salt and pepper.
While it simmers, roast the pine nuts in a different pan for a few minutes only.
Mix together the spinach, pine nuts, ricotta and bread crumbs in a bowl. Season with more salt and pepper as needed.
Spread a little tomato sauce in a baking dish. Take one full teaspoon of the spinach-ricotta mix, fill the jumbo shells, and place them one by one on the baking dish. Cover the pasta with grated parmesan cheese and sprinkle with some olive oil.
Bake at 190°C / 375°F for approx. 15-20min, or until the parmesan cheese has melted.
Prep Time: 1h
Serves 2
bakeaffairs says
I love the combination of spinach – ricotta and pasta.. It looks mouth watering..
mediterranealicious says
Thank you! It tastes even better than it looks :) And it is really easy and quick to make! Glad you like it :)