Baked Lumaconi Pasta Shells with Chicory and Porcini

Method11 steps · about 1 hr 30 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Soak the dried porcini (30 g) in warm water for about 30 minutes. Drain them and save the water.

   Soak porcini · 30 minUses 30 g dried porcini · Warm unmeasured water for porcini; retain soaking liquid

2. 2

   Step 2: Peel the 3 garlic cloves. Reserve 2 for the tomato sauce and 1 for the mushroom mixture.

   Uses 3 garlic cloves, peeled for later use

3. 3

   Step 3: Wash the chicory or spinach (400 g) well, drain and if using Catalonian chicory cut off the harder lower parts of the stalks and remove any damaged leaves. Boil the greens in a pan with a little water for about 10 minutes. When ready drain the greens, let them cool then chop into smaller pieces.

   Boil greens · 10 minUses 400 g chicory or spinach, boiled, drained and chopped · A little unmeasured water for greens

4. 4

   Step 4: Wash the 300–400 g cherry tomatoes. Either spread them on a baking tray, drizzle with part of the measured olive oil and roast at 180°C until beginning to soften, or skip roasting and quarter them for the sauce.

   Uses 300–400 g cherry tomatoes · Unmeasured portion of 4–5 tbsp total oil for roasting

5. 5

   Step 5: Heat some olive oil in a frying pan or skillet. Add 2 peeled garlic cloves and fry until they start to brown. Then add the roasted tomatoes to the pan and cook on a moderate heat for about 10 minutes. Add some of the porcini soaking water and continue cooking until the tomatoes are very soft. This sauce is semi-dry not very liquidy. If you prefer you can also add a little tomato passata to make ‘more’ sauce.

   Uses Roasted tomatoes from step 4, or raw quartered tomatoes if skipping roast · Use 2 cloves from the 3-clove supply · Unmeasured share of 4–5 tbsp total for tomato sauce · Some reserved soaking water from step 1 · Optional unmeasured passata if more sauce is wanted

6. 6

   Step 6: Cut the drained soaked porcini into smaller pieces. Heat a knob of butter with 1 tablespoon from the olive-oil supply and gently colour the remaining garlic clove. Add the porcini and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the ½ glass of white wine and simmer until its strong wine aroma subsides. Stir in the cooked chopped chicory or spinach and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper, then remove from the heat.

   Uses Drained mushrooms from step 1 · Boiled and chopped chicory/spinach from step 3 · Use the third clove from the 3-clove supply · A knob of butter, source amount not specified · 1 tbsp for mushroom pan, explicitly measured from the 4–5 tbsp total · ½ glass white wine; source does not define glass capacity · Season greens mixture to taste · Season greens mixture to taste

7. 7

   Step 7: Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Boil the giant lumaconi pasta shells until they are half cooked (about 8 minutes), drain them and run cold water over them to stop them cooking further. Drain again and spread them out on a dry cloth.

   Parboil lumaconi · 8 minUses 24 lumaconi (or conchiglioni, about 300 g) · Unmeasured pot of water for pasta · Unmeasured salt for pasta water

8. 8

   Step 8: Put the ricotta (250 g) in a bowl, with 1 egg, a generous handful of grana or parmesan and the heavy cream (100 ml) Mix together well. Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg. Add the mushroom and chicory to the ricotta mixture and mix together well again.

   Uses 250 g ricotta · 100 ml cream · 1 egg · 30 g grated cheese for filling · One pinch nutmeg · Prepared mushroom and greens mixture from step 6 · Season filling to taste · Season filling to taste

9. 9

   Step 9: Spread a little tomato sauce in the bottom of an oven dish. Stuff the lumaconi one by one using a teaspoon and place them in the oven dish, with the filling facing upwards.

   Uses Pasta shells from step 7 · Prepared filling from step 8 · Prepared semi-dry tomato sauce from step 5

10. 10

    Step 10: Preheat the oven to 190°C. Distribute the remaining prepared tomato sauce over the filled shells and sprinkle with additional grated Parmesan or Grana. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 5–10 minutes, until the shells are tender and the filling is hot throughout (15–20 minutes total).

    Uncover lumaconi · 10 minUses Filled shells from step 9 · Remaining prepared sauce from step 5 · Unmeasured grated cheese for topping, in addition to the 30 g already mixed into the filling

11. 11

    Step 11: Serve hot with more grated cheese if required.

    Uses Baked filled shells from step 10 · More grated cheese to serve, if desired