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Stuffed pasta shells
Serves 4-6 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- approx. 400g jumbo pasta shells
- 200g spinach
- 350g ricotta cheese
- 60g Italian hard cheese, grated salad, to serve (optional)
For the sauce
- 400g pumpkin or butternut squash
- 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 2 banana shallots, quartered
- 3tbsp olive oil
- 2 sage sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
- 250ml single cream
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/70C F/Gas 5.
To make the sauce, remove the skin and seeds from the pumpkin or squash and cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces. Put them on a baking tray with the garlic and shallots, drizzle the olive oil over and season with salt and pepper.
Bake the pumpkin or squash for around 45 minutes or until soft and the edges have just begun to catch, which will give extra flavour. Add the sage and cook for another 5 minutes. Tip everything from the baking tray into a blender, add the cream and blitz until smooth.
Cook the pasta shells for around 9 minutes in a large pan of generously salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle.
Wash the spinach, put it in a pan and allow it to wilt over a gentle heat. Drain well, then mix the spinach with the ricotta and half the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
Reheat the oven to 180C/160C F/Gas 4. Pour the pumpkin sauce into the base of an ovenproof pan.
Using a spoon, stuff each pasta shell with the ricotta and spinach mixture and arrange the filled shells in the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes and serve hot with the salad, if using.
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