Baked pasta shells
Giant pasta shells were a new one for me – I don’t know how I have lived without them for so long! Definitely worth a little extra effort as they taste amazing!
Ingredients
- 1 onion peeled and finely sliced
- 1 sweet pepper deseeded and finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 500 g passata
- 100 ml vegetable stock
- 20 large pasta shells
- 170 g garlic soft cheese I use Philadelphia garlic and herbs
- 2 tbsp creme fraiche
- 1 handful spinach finely chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp parmesan grated
- 1 garlic bread
- 1 bag mixed salad leaves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Heat some oil in pan; add the onion and pepper slices – gently cook until completely softened (10 minutes)
- Add the garlic – fry for another minute before pouring over the passata and vegetable stock
- Simmer for 15 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 180°C
- While the sauce is simmering, put a pan of salted water on to boil; once boiling add the pasta and cook until al’dente. Drain (reserving a small ladle full of cooking water) and set aside to cool
- Mix the garlic soft cheese, crème fraiche, spinach and plenty of black pepper in a bowl
- Spoon the mixture into the cooled shells (don’t overfill or you won’t have enough)
- Taste the sauce and season if necessary
- Pour a layer of the tomato sauce over the bottom of an ovenproof dish; place the filled shells on top.
- Pour over the remaining tomato sauce, sprinkle over the parmesan and cover with aluminium foil; bake for 20 minutes
- Check the timings for the garlic bread and pop it in the oven
- Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 5 minutes
- Toss the salad leaves with the oil, a pinch of salt and a good grinding of black pepper
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!