Baked Pasta Shells
This is a beautifully rich pasta dish. It may seem a little complicated, but as usual the key is in the preparation. Make sure you have everything ready to go before you begin, and it will be a breeze to cook.
ingredients
1 packet of large pasta shells
1 handful of plain kalamata olives
1/3 cup of pine nuts
2 tbs pesto - make your own, it tastes so much better
1cm thick slice of mild pancetta
1 tub of ricotta cheese - ask at the deli because they usually stock fresh ricotta
6 semi dried tomatoes
2 tins of whole peeled tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
parmesan cheese - reggiano is the best
olive oil
salt and pepper to season
parsley to garnish
Method
Fill a large pot with water, add lots of salt, bring to the boil and par cook the pasta shells. You want them to be just off al dente, as they will finish cooking in the oven. Leave to cool.
Meanwhile your going to put the filling together
Firstly dry roast the pine nuts by putting them into a hot fry pan and turning them until they are brown. This will release the oils and bring out the taste of the nut. Allow to cool.
Stone and roughly chop the olives, chop the pancetta into small cubes, chop the semi dried tomatoes
Place these into a large bowl and mix together with the pinenuts. Then add the ricotta and the pesto a little at a time. Do a taste test. You want to get a good balance of flavours - too much pesto and it will be too rich, too much ricotta and it will be to bland. It’s up to you to find the taste that suits you...
Season with salt and pepper
Now to the sauce
Heat some olive oil in a pot and add the crushed garlic, frying for a few minutes to release the flavours. Add the tomatoes, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. With a wooden spoon break the tomatoes up and leave the stove on low, allowing the sauce to gently simmer until you are ready to add it to the dish
Pre-heat the oven to 180°
Pour 2/3 of your tomato sauce into an ovenproof dish - it must be big enough for the shells to lie snugly together in a single layer
Fill each shell with your ricotta mix and place them into the dish
Now spoon the rest of the tomato sauce over the shells, sprinkle over some chopped up parsley and grate a healthy layer of fresh parmesan cheese over the top
Place into the oven for 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling.
Serve immediately with a crisp green salad and some chunky bread