Spinach, Ricotta and Feta Stuffed Conchiglioni with Fresh Tomato Sauce

As the calendar ticked over from February to March the weather also made an abrupt overnight change from summer to autumn that has left me feeling very annoyed that summer might be over for another year - it never seems to be long enough!! But I hold out hope that we might get another few weeks of warmer weather before winter sets in, like last year; and we have invited workmates for a barby on Friday so fingers crossed for sun at the least and maybe just a bit of warmth.

But the one good thing about the cooler weather is Comfort Food!! This stuffed pasta dish was the perfect way to segue from light summer fare to stodgy winter comfort food - not at all heavy but still full of flavour and lovely comforting cheese!

Spinach, Ricotta and Feta Stuffed Conchiglioni

Conchiglioni (giant pasta shells)

Stuffing:
1 packet frozen Spinach - defrosted and well drained
Approximately 150g Ricotta
Approximately 150g Feta - crumbled
Handful of flat leaf parsley - roughly chopped
Handful of Basil - roughly chopped

Squeeze excess liquid from spinach and put in a bowl with the other ingredients, mix well to break up the spinach and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I par-boiled the pasta shells before stuffing them as I wasn't planning on cooking them in lots of sauce but I'm not sure of the rules here as there wasn't any coherent instructions on the packet. This worked well for me though.

Quick Tomato Sauce

Approximately 500g fresh tomatoes - roughly chopped
1/2 onion - finely chopped

A few cloves of garlic - roughly chopped

Olive oil

A good glug of white wine

Gently sweat onion in olive oil over a low heat until transparent, then add tomatoes and garlic and increase the heat. When the pan is quite hot pour over a good glug of white wine and as it boils the tomatoes will break down to create the sauce. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Assembly:

Spread around a third of the tomato sauce over the base of a baking dish and cover with stuffed conchiglioni. Dot/spread the rest of the sauce over the stuffed shells, scatter over a few fresh basil leaves and then cover with lots of grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20-30 minutes (or until hot through and golden on top).