Stuffed Pasta Shells | Spinach & Ricotta Lumaconi

This recipe for stuffed pasta shells makes the perfect lunch or dinner for all seasons. Serve it up with a side salad of rocket and tomato or on its own with warm crusty bread to mop up the tomato sauce. 

I had a craving for these beautiful shells. I love the way they can be stuffed and then nestled snuggly into a tomato sauce. Where the sauces oozes into the gaps between and around the rims of the shells and are then baked with a layer of parmesan, and you get those crisp, crunchy bits of the shells poking out, you know like those crispy bits of lasagne that everyone wants!

Prep ahead

You can easily prep this dish ahead of time and just finish off in the oven when you’re ready to serve. Just follow the steps and before adding the grated parmesan, cover and leave to one side or place in the fridge (depending how long you’re leaving it for).

Stuffed Pasta Shells | Spinach & Ricotta Lumaconi

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 15-20 minutes | Serves: 3-4 | Nutrition: 486 calories per serving

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Ingredients

• 250g Lumaconi pasta shells
• 250g Ricotta
• 70 – 100g spinach, finely chopped (wilt in a pan if fresh or if using frozen defrost and squeeze out the excess water)
• 700g of passata or two tins of chopped/plum tomatoes (400g each)
• 1-2 garlic cloves (to taste), finely sliced
• 40g parmesan
• Nutmeg
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

Instructions

Preheat a fan oven to 280 degrees

1. In a pan, add a good glug of olive oil, add your garlic on a low heat. If you want to add chilli flakes for a little heat, add these now too. As the garlic starts to sizzle in the pan add your tomatoes.

2. Allow to simmer on a low heat while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Bring a pan of water to the boil and salt it, then add your lumaconi and cook for approximately 10 minutes so the pasta doesn’t lose its shape.

3. While the pasta is cooking mix your spinach, ricotta and 20g of grated parmesan to a bowl. Grate some whole nutmeg (about a quarter) into the mixture and season with salt. Mix together, and with a clean spoon have a taste to check your seasoning.

4. I use frozen spinach, so I defrost it, squeeze out any excess water and finely chop.

5. Once your pasta is ready, drain the pasta and leave it to cool in the colander. Turn the heat off the tomato sauce, tear in some fresh basil and then spread half of the sauce on the base of an oven dish.

6. Using a piping bag, or you can use a teaspoon, but from experience a piping bag is much easier! Gently fill each shell with a squeeze of the ricotta mixture and place in the oven dish nestled in the sauce.

7. Once you have filled them all, gently spoon over the rest of the sauce filling any gaps around the wholes and forming a little layer on top. Then top with grated parmesan. You could also add mozzarella or cheddar on top if you want it a little cheesier.

8. Place the dish in the oven for ten minutes, after ten minute you may want to add a little more cheese and then turn the oven up to 200degrees and bake for a further 5-10 minutes.

9. Serve on its own or with some nice chunky bread and a side salad of rocket and tomato.