This is the beginning of a new project which I am really excited about. I work as a sous-chef at a local independent deli in Nottingham and during lockdown I started creating and putting together 42 recipes inspired by a deck of tarot cards which are suitable for vegetarian/pescatarian diets. My kitchen is a space where I experiment a lot hence why sometimes I will add more of one ingredient or less of another in order to get the right balance of flavours and I highly encourage you to do the same.
One thing I promise is that you won't regret having a go at them!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups shell pasta
-3 cups spinach
-2 cloves garlic
-5/6 mushrooms
-1/2 block feta cheese
-salt/pepper
-juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
-pinch oregano
-3 tbsp single cream
-1/3 tomato passata carton
-1 tsp tomato purée
-fresh basil
First things first, boil your dried shell pasta for about 8-10mins. We want it quite al dente as we will be popping this in the oven later on.
While that's boiling we're going to make the filling for the shells. In a pan, drizzle some olive oil and throw in your garlic, mushrooms, spinach, salt/pepper, juice from half a lemon and a pinch of oregano. When that's all nicely cooked, put it aside and let it cool down alongside the pasta. You'll have to use your fingers to stuff the shells so make sure they're not too hot.
For the salsa we will be making a rosé sauce by mixing tomato passata, tomato purée, single cream, a little bit of chopped basil and to finish it off a little salt and pepper. Let that sauce simmer until nice and thick. If the taste of the tomato is too strong just add some water to it in order to balance out the flavours.
Before stuffing the shells with the filling, crumble some feta cheese and mix well until it is evenly spread throughout the whole mixture. The process of stuffing the shells may seems a bit tedious and time consuming but it can be very relaxing and it is definitely worth the time. When you're ready stuff the pasta and then place it on a bed of that creamy rosé sauce (drizzle some on top too if you like) and pop it in the oven for 20-25mins at 180°.
This is a perfect recipe for someone who loves pasta but wants to try out something new. There are a lot of complementing flavours going on and it is a lovely dish to have on a Saturday night with a cheeky glass of wine.