Baked Shells With Fresh Spinach and Pancetta |
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Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes |
Ready In: 60 Minutes Servings: 8 |
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This is a prepare-ahead one-dish pasta dinner based on a recipe by Nancy Verde Barr in the January 1993 issue of Food & Wine magazine. You may use prosciutto in place of the pancetta. Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter |
2 cups heavy cream |
1/2 cup tomato puree |
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated (2 ounces) |
salt & freshly ground black pepper |
1/3 lb pancetta or 1/3 lb prosciutto, finely diced |
1 lb fresh spinach, rinsed and stemmed, leaves torn |
1 lb medium pasta shell |
Directions:
1. In a heavy medium nonreactive saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the heavy cream and tomato puree and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer until reduced to 2 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet, cook the pancetta in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until slightly crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the spinach in batches and cook, tossing, until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook the pasta shells in a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water until barely al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.
4. Toss the pasta with the creamy tomato sauce and the spinach. Spoon it into a 3-quart shallow buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese on top and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until piping hot.
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