Conchiglioni with spinach, mushrooms and ricotta in tomato sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 200 g conchiglioni (large shell pasta)
• 300 g spinach
• 250 g mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 lemon(s), juice and zest
• 250 g ricotta
• 1 dl cream
• 50 g Parmesan, grated
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 onion(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bunch of basil
• 2 tbsp thyme
• 800 g tomatoes, chopped, from the can
• 1 tbsp sugar
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 100 g Parmesan, grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

Use a large, shallow oven dish large enough to fit all the conchiglioni (large pasta shells – we used 24) side by side. Simmer the pasta shells in plenty of salted water for 7 minutes. They won’t be cooked through yet, but they’ll be perfect for filling. They’ll continue cooking in the oven later. For the tomato sauce, finely chop the onion, mince the garlic cloves, and fry both in olive oil until translucent. Finely chop the basil and thyme and add them along with the tomato pieces and sugar. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. For the filling, peel and chop the garlic cloves. Brush and finely chop the mushrooms. Wash the spinach and spin dry. Heat the olive oil, add the spinach, and let it wilt. Remove from the pan and let it cool slightly, then chop finely. Place the spinach in a colander and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Heat the olive oil again in the same pan, fry the mushrooms and garlic, and let it cool slightly. Mix the spinach, mushrooms, and garlic. Add the ricotta and cream and mix well. Grate some lemon zest and squeeze the lemon juice. Season the filling with lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Fill the pasta with this mixture (this is easy to do with a small spoon). Spread some tomato sauce in the baking dish, place the pasta on top, and sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese. Then spread the remaining tomato sauce over the pasta so that everything is covered (so the uncovered parts don’t get hard). Sprinkle everything again with Parmesan cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 15 minutes. Note: As a variation, you can also make a béchamel sauce and cover the pasta with it, but this will add significantly more calories. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top of the béchamel sauce.