Thermomix Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Bake… but a little bit fancy!
Who doesn’t love a bit of spinach and ricotta filled pasta? This recipe is one that Bec has been making for YEARS and she thinks it is the epitome of ‘comfort food’, which is why it is featured in The Comfort Issue of The 4 Blades Collection.
This recipe looks so impressive and tastes even better. A couple of tricky things with this recipe is that the giant pasta shells used in this recipe CAN be hard to find. If you have an Italian or Mediterranean deli in your area than you should be able to find them there. Secondly, filling the shells can take some time but it’s SO worth it.
We talked about creating this recipe in Episode 148 of the podcast – Thermomix Pasta Bakes.
Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Shell Bake
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 6-8
Description
This is an all time favourite… a bit fiddly, but truly delicious. It has been designed to cook in the giant pasta shells you can purchase from Italian delis. You can use the large pasta shells from the supermarket instead, but boy oh boy is that more fiddly!
This recipe was featured in Episode 148 of the podcast – Thermomix Pasta Bakes.
Recipe Tester Feedback: “This recipe was a fantastic looking and tasting dish. It was tasty and my daughter, who is a recent vegetarian, loved that it was something special for her. I loved that the whole family enjoyed it… which made my life easier. The recipe was fiddly, but it was worth it once the family raved about it!” – Sally
No: Egg / Nuts
Contains: Gluten / Dairy
Ingredients
- pasta – 400g, shells, giant
- spinach – 500g, frozen, thawed and chopped
- ricotta cheese – 250g (make your own with the Ricotta cheese recipe from The Make Your Own Subscriber Bonus Issue)
- cottage cheese – 500g
- Parmesan cheese – 80g, cubed
Sauce:
- onion – 1, peeled and quartered
- garlic cloves – 2, peeled
- olive oil – 20g
- tinned tomatoes – 800g, diced
- tomato paste – 60g
- dried Italian herbs – 2 tsp, or your choice of dried herb (e.g., oregano, thyme)
- water – 250g
- vegetable stock – 20g, paste
Instructions
- If you need to grate your Parmesan cheese, add cubed Parmesan cheese (80g) to the bowl. Grate Speed 8 / 5-10 seconds. Set aside in a separate bowl.
- Boil the pasta shells (400g) for 3 minutes in a large saucepan of boiling water, uncovered.
- Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside to cool slightly.
Drain the thawed spinach (500g) thoroughly and add to the bowl with the ricotta (250g) and cottage cheese (500g). Mix Speed 4 / 5 seconds. Set aside.
Sauce:
- Add onion (1) and garlic cloves (2) to the bowl. Chop Speed 6 / 1 second. Scrape down sides.
- Add oil (20g) to the bowl. Program 5 minutes / 115C* / Stirring Speed, measuring cap off.
- Add tomatoes (800g tin), tomato paste (60g), Italian seasoning (2 tsp), water (250g) and stock paste (20g). Program 10 minutes / 100C / Stirring Speed. Set internal steaming basket on the lid to prevent spatters. You can continue on to the next step while the sauce is cooking.
Assembly:
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- While that is cooking, fill your pasta shells and set aside.
- After the sauce has finished cooking, blend Speed 4 / 5 seconds, measuring cap on.
- Pour the sauce into the bottom of your ovenproof dish for baking, and add the shells on top. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese (80g) and cover with aluminium foil.
- Put into the oven to bake for 45 minutes. After that time, remove the aluminium foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
Notes
*If your machine does not go above 100C, set to Steaming Temperature which is usually between 110-115C. Please refer to your user manual for correct information for the appropriate setting for your machine
Can be frozen
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Keywords: Free Thermomix Recipes, Lunch & Dinner Thermomix Recipes, Savoury Thermomix Snacks, Vegetarian