Baked conchiglioni pasta shells with spinach and ricotta

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5 from 25 votes

Baked conchiglioni pasta shells with spinach and ricotta

This delicious classic Italian baked shells recipe is perfect for family lunches and holiday menus.

Prep Time25

Cook Time1

Total Time1 25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Campania, Italian, Southern Italian

Keyword: baked pasta recipe, conchiglioni, Italian recipe, pasta bake, pasta shells, ricotta, spinach, stuffed pasta

Servings:

Calories: 1013kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

250 g conchiglioni pasta shells (9oz) you can also use lumaconi

For the filling

300 g fresh ricotta (10.5oz)
1 kg fresh spinach (2.2lbs) or 300 g frozen spinach (10.5oz)
2 eggs
½ teaspoon nutmeg
70 g Parmigiano or Grana cheese (2.5oz) grated
salt for pasta, tomato sauce and to taste
black pepper to taste

For tomato sauce

3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
700 g tomato passata (I use rustica) (1.5lbs) or 400 g peeled San Marzano tomatoes (14oz)
2 garlic cloves peeled

For the bechamel

75 g all purpose flour (2.6oz)
75 g butter (2.6oz)
500 ml milk (16floz) add more milk if necessary
1 pinch nutmeg

For serving

50 g Parmigiano or Grana cheese (2oz) grated

Instructions

To make the filling

Whether using fresh or frozen, cook the spinach as normal without adding any extra liquid. Drain the spinach making sure you have removed as much liquid as possible then, once it has cooled, chop it and mix it in a bowl with the ricotta, the eggs and the Parmigiano, adding nutmeg, salt and pepper as required.

Cook the pasta

Put a pan of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt when it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the conchiglioni a little less than the time required for al dente, then drain and let the pasta cool. (it’s better to separate the shells before they cool as they may stick together)

To make the tomato sauce

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or skillet, add the whole peeled garlic cloves and cook until they start to soften and brown. Add the tomato passata or the fresh peeled San Marzano tomatoes (I also like to use half passata and half unpeeled fresh cherry or datterini tomatoes). Let the sauce simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the garlic when the sauce is ready.

To make the bechamel

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour a little at a time, whilst stirring continuously, until you have a smooth paste. Add the milk a little at a time, again continuously stirring, until the sauce starts to thicken. If your béchamel seems lumpy you can use a hand blender to make it smoother. I like to add a pinch of nutmeg to the béchamel.

Put the dish together

Cover the bottom of an oven dish with some of the tomato sauce and some béchamel. With the help of a teaspoon or small tablespoon, take a little of the filling and fill each conchiglioni, then place it in the oven dish.
Add some more béchamel to the top of each pasta shell. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the shells and finish with a sprinkling of Parmigiano, then bake in a preheated oven 180- 200° C for about 20 minutes until the top starts to brown.
Serve immediately with extra grated Parmigiano or grana if required.

Notes

This recipe can be made without tomato sauce, if you wish to serve the pasta shells as finger-food. Just butter the oven dish and put a little béchamel on top of the shells with a sprinkling of Parmigiano.

You can also serve the shells in individual portions using small oven-proof dishes.

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