Anna's Family Kitchen was inspired by my love of food and desire to feed my family healthy, home cooked wholesome meals that are beautifully presented and appealing but don’t require hours of prep in the kitchen.
Spinach and Ricotta Filled Pasta with Tomato Sauce
I promise this looks more fussy than it actually is. Get the largest pasta shells you can find, mix together ricotta, hard cheese, wilted spinach and basil then spoon into the cooked pasta shells. Whilst you’re doing this make a basic tomato sauce. Sit the shells on top and bake in the oven with a sprinkling of pine nuts.
Serves: 4
Prep: 15 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
INGREDIENTS
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INGREDIENTS for 4:- 300g large pasta shells
250g ricotta
4 tbsp grated parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese such as Pecorino
200g spinach
handful fresh basil chopped
1 beaten egg
For the tomato sauce:
2 red onions chopped
4 garlic cloves crushed
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp pinenuts
Extra Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese for grating on top
Cook the pasta shells until they are just al dente, about 8-9 minutes. Don’t overcook them as you don’t want them falling apart. Drain.
Soften the onion in a lug of oil for 5 minutes then add the garlic. Colour for a minute before adding the balsamic vinegar and chopped tomatoes. Season and simmer for 20 minutes.
Put the spinach into a colander and pour over boiling water so that it wilts. Roughly chop it once it’s drained completely.
Combine the ricotta, cheese, egg, basil and spinach.
Transfer the tomato sauce into an oven proof dish. Spoon the spinach and ricotta mix into each shell and place them in the tomato sauce so they sit proud.
Sprinkle with the pine nuts and grate some extra cheese on top. Bake 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
Serve with a green salad.
