Stuffed shell pasta with tomatoes

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 250 g shell pasta, large
• 1 onion(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• some olive oil
• 500 g minced meat, mixed
• 500 g leaf spinach, frozen
• 1 cup of crème fraîche, 200 g
• 40 g butter
• 2 tbsp, heaped flour
• 250 ml milk
• 250 ml vegetable stock
• 100 g blue cheese, mild or hearty, depending on your taste, also works with Edam
• 250 g cherry tomatoes
• Salt and pepper, from the mill

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

I pre-cook the pasta in salted water for about 10 minutes. To let it cool down a bit, I make the minced meat and spinach mixture in the meantime. But be careful that the pasta doesn’t stick together while it cools! I peel the onion and garlic and finely dice them. Then I sauté both in a large pan with a little oil. Then I add the minced meat and fry it until crumbly. I then top with the frozen spinach and season with salt and pepper. I let everything simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then I stir the crème fraîche into the mixture. While the minced meat mixture is simmering, I prepare the cheese sauce. I melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, and let both sauté briefly. While stirring, I add the milk and broth until everything is nice and creamy. The amount of milk or broth can vary slightly! I let the cheese melt in the sauce without the rind and season the sauce with pepper. I preheat the oven to 180°C (fan). Then I fill the pasta with the minced meat and spinach mixture and place it in a greased baking dish. Finally, I spread the sauce and the halved tomatoes over the pasta. If you like, you can also top with some grated cheese. Bake everything for about 20 minutes.