Scenes From Dinner




  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Dinner
  • Lunch
  • Dessert
  • Scenes from Dinner
  • Get In Touch
Dinner ,  Recipes

Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Shells

This meal was a staple at my parent’s house when I was growing up. I would get so excited when my mom would tell me we would be having “Shells” for dinner. When I was younger, I wouldn’t like it as much as I do now, because of the “green stuff” (spinach) that was included in the filling, but now, I just love the flavours of the filling and how quick it is to make this. The result when putting this recipe altogether is a delicious dinner that has always been very popular at dinner parties and with the family.

Let me know what you think!
xo,

Christina

Ingredients:

  • 16 jumbo pasta shells (Cook a couple of extra shells)
  • 1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
  • 4 cups fresh spinach leaves, roughly-chopped (I always use the fresh spinach but you can use the frozen spinach if it’s defrosted)
  • 12 oz ricotta cheese (I get mine from Galati cheese in Windsor or just go to an Italian deli)
  • 1 cup shredded skim-milk mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
  • 1-1/4 cups fresh tomato sauce (I always use meatless sauce or you can add ground beef to your sauce)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the pasta shells first, put a little bit of olive oil in the water so the shells don’t stick together.
  2. Drain and set aside.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown, about a minute or two. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leaves begin to turn bright green, about 3 to 4 minutes. The spinach should be reduced by half.
  4. Remove from the heat and let cool.
  5. In a mixing bowl, stir together the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, basil and salt and pepper until thoroughly combined. Pour 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a shallow 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish.
  6. Stuff each pasta shell with a generous amount of the spinach and ricotta mixture, and place in the baking dish.
  7. Cover with the remaining sauce and bake covered with aluminum foil for 25 minutes. You may have to cook it a bit longer depending on your oven. Sometimes it takes me 30-35 minutes of baking.
  8. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top begins to brown and the sauce begins the bubble, another 10-15 minutes.
  9. Serve warm with a dusting of Parmesan cheese.

Share:
Preview Post

Mini Pumpkin Loaves

Next Post

National Punch Day at Punch Bowl Social Detroit

You may also like

post-image
Dinner ,  Recipes

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

post-image
Dinner

Pasta Carbonara: An Easy Gourmet Dish

post-image
Dinner ,  Soup

Homemade Wonton Soup

post-image
Dinner ,  Events

Smashed Apple’s Live Chef Demo at Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery

Connect on Facebook




Newsletter

Subscribe to my Newsletter!
All Images, Designs and Content Copyright © 2018, Scenes from Dinner