Stuffed giant pasta shells
Despite the fact that I'm half Italian, my boyfriend is the real pasta lover. He could literally eat it every day! Of course I don't mind cause as a real Italian 'mama' I think it's great to be able to say 'mangia mangia ..'.
I've always been willing to make this recipe. I saw it for the first time when I was still living in Australia and it's just by coincidence, by seeing the giant pasta shells in the supermarket it reminds me to make it.
It's just a pity you can't find them wholemeal cause it would make this recipe healthier. Anyway to give it my healthy touch I replaced the usual cream with ricotta. Ricotta contains more protein than cream and is lower in saturated fat.
Notice that Spinach is not possible to heat up a second time. I (and my guests) can assure you this dish is as delicious cold. Before serving you can pour some extra olive oil to make it even more tasty.
It is a super easy recipe that requires few ingredients. Roll up your sleeves, get your pots and pans out of the cupboard and invite your friends for a cozy and delicious evening!
Ingredients (4 servings)
- 325gr chopped spinach (frozen)
- 250gr ricotta cheese
- 300gr giant pasta shells
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 cherry vine tomatoes
- 4 tbsp EVOO
- pepper & salt
Method
- Using a pot with lid, let the chopped frozen spinach melt on medium heat.
- In meantime, prepare the giant pasta shells like mentioned on the package.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Once the spinach completely melted, add the ricotta cheese, pepper and salt. Stir everything together. Using a lid let it rest on very low heat.
- Drain the giant pasta shells and allow to cool down (or pour some cold water on it to fasten it, otherwise you'll burn your fingers)
- Fill de giant pasta shells with the spinach stuffing and add the shells in a oven dish.
- Once the oven dish filled with shells, pour some olive oil, adding the cherry tomatoes en pine nuts on top.
- Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Take out of the oven and enjoy your dinner!
Good to know
Are you very hungry or do you just have more friends coming over?
Change the amount of spinach, pasta shells and ricotta by adding an extra 700gr chopped spinach, 500gr pasta shells and 125gr ricotta cheese.
