Baked Silverbeet and Ricotta Filled Pasta Shells

 

A box of conchiglioni rigati ( large pasta shells) had sat in my pantry for quite a while . I'd bought them on impulse because they are so decorative but it was time to use them up.So I filled them with a mixture of  young silverbeet leaves out of the garden stirred into some rich ricotta cheese .

It  served two of us for lunch  but it could easily be multiplied.

For this recipe I used the home made rich ricotta cheese which I posted previously http://focussedonfood.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/rich-home-made-ricotta.html

I guess you could use ordinary  ricotta but the litte bit of cream which is added to this recipe is what makes it taste so good. Instead of young silverbeet you could use some baby spinach.

Baked Silverbeet and Ricotta filled Pasta Shells

Ingredients:

8 conchiglioni rigato pasta shells
2-3 young silverbeet leaves finely chopped
1/4 cup of rich home made ricotta cheese
1 egg
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a handful of finely grated tasty cheddar cheese

Method:

Boil the pasta shells in salted water till they are still slightly firm ( al dente)
Mix the rich ricotta cheese, chopped silverbeet leaves, egg, and salt and pepper.
Fill each shell with some of the mixture.
Put them in a small baking dish
Sprinkle some finely grated tasty cheddar over the top
Bake for 15 minutes at 180C until the shells are piping hot and the cheese topping is golden and crusty.