Baked pasta shells stuffed with spinach and mascarpone

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Today I'd like to share a recipe for a delicious, satisfying meat-free dinner. We'll prepare pasta shells stuffed with mascarpone, feta and spinach, baked in tomato sauce under a tad of parmesan.


Pasta stuffing made this way is pleasantly creamy, distinctly cheesy, with light nutmeg notes, while tomato sauce is perfectly balanced. A quick, simple way to feed your family!

You'll find the list of ingredients, method and approximate nutritional value below.

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List of ingredients

  • 250 g large pasta shells (conchiglioni)

Tomato sauce

  • 1 tbsp frying oil
  • 3 shallots (~100 g)
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • 2 cans chopped tomatoes (800 g in total)
  • 200 ml water
  • 1 tsp dry basil
  • 1 tsp dry oregano
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 20 g sugar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Stuffing

  • 1 tbsp frying oil
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • 500 g baby spinach
  • 200 g feta cheese
  • 250 g mascarpone cheese
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • Pepper, to taste

Also

  • 60 g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative, or your other favourite cheese)

Method

  1. Put 250 g large pasta shells into salted boiling water. Stir through the contents of the pot and make sure all shells are submerged. Cook pasta shells al dente, that is until they are elastic, but not completely soft yet. It's best to subtract a minute or two from the time given in package instructions. My pasta shells took 12 minutes to cook. After this time take pasta off heat, drain it on a colander and run cold water through it to stop the cooking process.
  2. Transfer cooked pasta onto a plate and arrange it in a single layer. Separate any shells that got stuck together while cooking. Set plate aside to cool.
  3. Heat up 1 tbsp frying oil in a large pot. Put 100 g diced shallots into the pot. Fry the shallots over low heat for 3-4 minutes, until they visibly soften up, but don't start changing colour yet. After 4 minutes add 3 garlic cloves pressed through a garlic press into the pot. Continue cooking the contents of the pot for another 30 seconds, until garlic releases aroma.
  4. Add 800 g chopped tomatoes, 200 ml water, 1 tsp each of dry basil and dry oregano, 1 generous tbsp balsamic vinegar and 20 g white sugar. Stir through the contents of the pot until sugar dissolves and bring sauce to a simmer under cover. Cook the sauce slowly for around 20 minutes.
  5. Once 20 minutes have passed season sauce to taste with salt and ground black pepper. If you want, you can add more sugar or vinegar at this point, as the exact amount will depend on tomatoes you're using. Take pot off heat; if you want your sauce to be smooth you can blend it at this stage with an immersion blender, but it's not necessary.
  6. Meanwhile, you can prepare spinach stuffing. Heat up 1 tbsp frying oil in a large pan. Press 3 garlic cloves onto the pan through a garlic press and fry it for around 30 seconds, until it releases aroma.
  7. Start adding 500 g baby spinach to the pan. This amount wouldn't fit in my pan all at once, so I'm doing it in three batches, a few handfuls at a time. Cook contents of the pan after each batch until spinach wilts and most of liquid evaporates.
  8. Once all spinach is in and moisture evaporates, add 250 g mascarpone cheese to the pan. Stir spinach and cheese together shortly, until cheese gets evenly distributed. Cheese will melt and become quite fluid at this stage. Add 200 g crushed feta and 1 tsp ground nutmeg next. Stir the stuffing and season to taste with ground black pepper. I'm not using salt here as I find feta salty enough.
  9. Pour tomato sauce into a large ovenproof dish and spread it evenly across the surface. Stuff each pasta shell with 1-2 generous tsp of spinach stuffing and place it onto sauce. I'm using a rectangular ovenproof dish, 31 x 20 cm, and it is too small to fit all 27 pasta shells, so I'm arranging 9 in a separate dish. Use a 40 x 27 cm dish if you have one, or prepare two dishes like I'm doing. Scatter 60 g freshly grated parmesan or your other favourite cheese on top of pasta shells.
  10. Bake pasta shells in an oven preheated to 200 deg C for 25 minutes, until cheese melts and tomato sauce starts to bubble. It should be enough time for pasta to finish cooking and absorb stuffing and sauce flavours. Take pasta out of the oven after 25 minutes and set it aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly before serving.
  11. Enjoy!

Approximate nutritional value

100 g

  • 171 kcal
  • Carbs: 14 g 
  • Fat:11 g
  • Protein: 6 g
  • Fibre: 1 g

1 serving (recipe makes 5 servings)

  • 674 kcal
  • Carbs: 52 g 
  • Fat: 42 g
  • Protein: 24 g
  • Fibre: 4 g

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