Shells Baked with Spinach Herbs and Walnuts Recipe
Ingredients
| Onions | 1 1/4 Cup (16 tbs), finley chopped | |
| 2 fresh bay leaves or 1 dried bay leaf | ||
| 1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely minced | ||
| Unsalted butter | 2 Tablespoon | |
| Extra virgin olive oil | 2 Tablespoon | |
| Sea salt | 1/2 Teaspoon | |
| Heavy cream | 2 1/2 Cup (16 tbs) | |
| 4 cups tightly packed baby spinach, borage, watercress, or chicory leaves | ||
| 1 cup tightly packed baby arugula leaves | ||
| Sage | 1 Teaspoon, finely chopped | |
| Basil | 1/2 Teaspoon, finely chopped | |
| Marjoram | 1 Teaspoon, finely chopped | |
| Summer savory | 1/4 Teaspoon, finely chopped | |
| Chives | 2 Teaspoon, finley chopped | |
| Walnuts | 1 Cup (16 tbs), finely chopped | |
| Fontina | 1/2 Cup (16 tbs), cubed | |
| Romano | 1/2 Cup (16 tbs), grated | |
| 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano | ||
| Freshly grated nutmeg | ||
| 3 tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche | ||
| 1 pound dried conchiglie rigate, or ridged pasta shells | ||
Directions
1. Combine the onions, bay leaves, garlic, butter, olive oil, and salt in a small saucepan. Saute over moderately low heat until the onions and garlic are very soft and completely cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add the cream and scald—heat just until little bubbles form around the outside edge. Set aside off the heat for 30 minutes to steep together.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Heat the oven to 500 degrees.
3. In another saucepan, drop the spinach and arugula leaves in boiling salted water. Cook, stirring often, until the greens are wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander.
4. When the greens are cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as possible. Transfer to a cutting board and finely chop. Combine the chopped greens, sage, basil, marjoram, summer savory, and chives in a large mixing bowl. Add the walnuts, fontina, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a good scraping of nutmeg (a microplane is the ideal tool for this). Remove and discard the bay leaves and add the cooled cream and sour cream to the mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Taste and add salt if necessary. Set aside.
5. Generously salt the boiling water and drop in the pasta. Cook, stirring often, to parboil, 4 to 5 minutes (the pasta will be too hard to eat; it will continue to cook in the oven). Drain the shells, reserving about 1 cup of the water. Toss the pasta with the ingredients in the mixing bowl until well combined; you want the shells to capture some of the walnuts, herbs, and cheese in their crannies. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water and toss again. Transfer to individual shallow baking dishes or a large shallow gratin dish. There should be ample liquid surrounding the pasta. If not, nap with additional pasta water. Bake until bubbly and hot, with some of the pasta shells browning on top. Serve right away.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Heat the oven to 500 degrees.
3. In another saucepan, drop the spinach and arugula leaves in boiling salted water. Cook, stirring often, until the greens are wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander.
4. When the greens are cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as possible. Transfer to a cutting board and finely chop. Combine the chopped greens, sage, basil, marjoram, summer savory, and chives in a large mixing bowl. Add the walnuts, fontina, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a good scraping of nutmeg (a microplane is the ideal tool for this). Remove and discard the bay leaves and add the cooled cream and sour cream to the mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Taste and add salt if necessary. Set aside.
5. Generously salt the boiling water and drop in the pasta. Cook, stirring often, to parboil, 4 to 5 minutes (the pasta will be too hard to eat; it will continue to cook in the oven). Drain the shells, reserving about 1 cup of the water. Toss the pasta with the ingredients in the mixing bowl until well combined; you want the shells to capture some of the walnuts, herbs, and cheese in their crannies. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water and toss again. Transfer to individual shallow baking dishes or a large shallow gratin dish. There should be ample liquid surrounding the pasta. If not, nap with additional pasta water. Bake until bubbly and hot, with some of the pasta shells browning on top. Serve right away.
Chef
