No need to pre-cook shells before stuffing. Hot floppy shells are really annoying! For oven cooking, bake in plenty of sauce. Spinach and ricotta fill these large shells, called conchiglioni. For the ideal evening, serve with Mega Italian Salad and garlic bread.
Maybe you’ve tried, but filling hot pasta shells is a nightmare. Slipper suckers, they break quickly.
No need to endure that! Covering fresh pasta shells with plenty of sauce makes stuffing and baking them simpler. It works 100%. I’ve always cooked cannelloni/manicotti this way.
Just start with a lot of watery sauce to boil the pasta in. Similar to boiling pasta in water. Eventually, the runny liquid thickens into a delicious pasta sauce!
Making spinach-ricotta filled shells
Dry spaghetti shells are another pet dislike of mine. No worries—we have plenty of tomato sauce to provide!
Supplies for filled pasta shells
Spinach and ricotta is a favorite pasta shell filling, and I used it today. Sorry for being predictable? 🙂
Big shells (conchiglioni)
Australian supermarket shops (Woolies, Coles, Harris Farms) now carry jumbo shells (conchiglioni), which is why I went on a filled shells bender.
A 500g / 1 lb package costs $5, more than standard pasta forms. But they continue. This dish feeds 5 generously, maybe 6. Use 250g / 8 oz. I have a big appetite! My servings are generous).
What you need for stuffing. I use the same mixture for spinach ricotta cannelloni, rolls, and the fan-favorite rotolo.
Use beef cannelloni stuffing instead.
Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Shells ingredients
Spinach—frozen for convenience (thaw, drain) or fresh if you have plenty.
Use good, full-fat, creamy ricotta. Australians should avoid Perfect Italiano tubs in shop fridges. Very powdery and nasty. Paesanella from Harris Farms and huge grocery delis is my favorite.
A flavored shredded cheese like cheddar, delicious, or gruyere is ideal. Save mozzarella for the topping (it melts nicely but has little flavor).
Don’t skip parmesan! It spices up the filling. Finely shredded or grated store-bought or homemade is good.
Because garlic improves everything
Egg binds.
Nutmeg—optional but wonderful. I use it in most spinach ricotta fillings.
Salt and pepper
The sauce
I prefer a smooth pasta sauce to one with crushed or chopped tomatoes when cooking uncooked filled shells. Cooking the shells equally results in a smooth spaghetti sauce when baked.
Ingredients in Stuffed spinach-ricotta shells
Tomato passata Pureed, strained simple tomatoes, sometimes called “tomato puree” in the US (Mutti tomato passata at Walmart). Easily found in Australian stores with spaghetti sauces. Excellent for smooth sauces instead of boiling crushed or chopped tomato for eons. Tomato passata details here.
US Hunt’s tomato sauce works well. Try crushed canned tomato and purée as I do for cannelloni/manicotti.
French onions, or “shallots” in the US. They resemble young onions but are finer, sweeter, and purple-skinned. Not to be confused with Australian “shallots”—long green onions.
Eshalots are finer than onions, so they practically melt into the sauce, creating a silky sauce. You may use a tiny onion instead.
Fresh garlic, bay leaf, dried thyme, and dried oregano.
To thicken and enhance tomato flavor, use tomato paste.
White wine adds flavor and richness to the sauce as only wine can! We boil 1/3 cup to remove the alcohol. Replace with additional stock or skip.
Since this sauce is quite watery, we need a litre/quart (4 cups) of vegetable stock! Watch the video to observe how the spaghetti shells absorb it all, leaving a thicker sauce for dishing.
To make the tomato paste less sour, add a little sugar.
Making filled shells
The recipe is simple and flows well: cook the sauce first, then fill the shells while it simmers. Bake after assembly!
Aromatic sauté In a big saucepan or small pot, cook garlic, eschalots, and herbs.
Tomato paste and wine—Cook the tomato paste for 1 minute to reduce the raw sourness and intensify the flavor, then add the wine and boil briskly on high heat until nearly evaporated.
Add the other ingredients and cook on low for 20 minutes without the cover.
Wet sauce! The sauce will be runny and abundant. Have trust! Shells absorb most of the liquid, so you need it all. Keep the sauce hot for usage.
STUFF AND BAKE: Making spinach-ricotta filled shells
Combine spinach ricotta stuffing ingredients.
Fill uncooked shells. Small offset spatulas (bent butter knives, great cooking tools) work best for me. Otherwise, use a knife or spoon, whichever is easiest.
Prepare – Pour spicy sauce onto a 23 x 33cm (9 x 13″) baking dish. Then carefully add pasta shells. Some may semi-float, but most will be submerged. However, most of the pasta should be immersed in liquid to cook evenly (a little above will steam-cook).
Bake 70 min covered. Bake the dish for 70 minutes under a baking pan or foil. Actually, it will take that long!
A baking tray—why? Easy technique to cover the baking dish, no waste, no scorching, and allows steam escape to reduce the sauce just so.
15-minute cheese bake—Remove the baking dish from the oven. Add cheese and bake for 15 minutes until bubbling and golden.
Serve! Scoops and serves. Be amazed by the al dente shells and generous sauce!
Ricotta-stuffed spinach shell bowl
Serve with a fast rocket balsamic salad (arugula in the US). or a Mega Italian Salad (it lives up to its name) to wow. A plate of garlic bread and tiramisu completes my dream supper. When can I visit?
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