Sheesey Stuffed Pasta Shells with Nduja Sauce

Sheesey Stuffed Pasta Shells with Nduja Sauce

This one is genuinely one of our proudest recipes. Big, pillowy pasta shells stuffed with creamy, herby sheesey filling and baked in a smoky, spicy nduja-style tomato sauce. It looks absolutely stunning when it comes out of the oven and tastes even better than it looks. The sauce has this deep, rich heat that creeps up on you, and the filling is so satisfying you won't believe it's entirely plant-based. If you want to proper impress someone at dinner, make this tonight.

Cook: 50 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Large frying pan with lid
  • Large pan for boiling pasta
  • Colander
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Microplane or zester

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ¼ tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tbsp plant-based nduja paste
  • 700ml Passata
  • salt, pepper & sugar to taste
  • 100g - jumbo pasta shells
  • 200g - Sheese Grated Mozzarella
  • 100g baby spinach
  • 20g basil
  • 1 lemon

Method

1

Prepare the ingredients

  • Peel and finely slice the onion
  • Trim, deseed, core and finely slice the pepper
  • Peel and grate the garlic
  • Roughly chop the spinach
  • Pick the basil leaves and finely slice, saving some to garnish
2

For the sauce

  • Heat 2 tbsp olive in oil in the frying pan over a medium heat
  • Add the onion, a pinch of salt and stir for 3-4 minutes to soften
  • Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the pepper and stir for 3-4 minutes
  • Add the paprika, oregano, and chilli and cook for 1 minute
  • Add the nduja and tomato puree and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the passata, stir to combine, reduce the heat to a gentle and simmer and leave to reduce for 7-8 minutes
  • Taste and season to perfection with salt, pepper and a little sugar if you think it needs it
3

Prepare the pasta

  • Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta shells to the water and cook for 8 minutes until al dente
  • Drain with a colander and drizzle over a little olive oil to stop them from sticking
  • Roughly chop the spinach and add to a large bowl
  • Add the Sheese, zest of one lemon, a pinch of salt and pepper, around 50 ml water and stir vigorously until the mixture is well combined and slightly mulched
  • Fill each pasta shell with 1 tbsp of the mixture
4

Assemble and bake

  • Spread the sauce evenly across the bottom of the skillet
  • Top with the filled pasta shells in a decorative fashion, sprinkle over the remaining Sheese, squeeze over the juice of one lemon, drizzle over a little olive oil, sprinkle over a little black pepper, put the lid on the skillet, put the skillet in the oven and roast for 15 minutes
  • Take the lid off, put the skillet back in the oven and roast for a further 5 minutes until the Sheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling
5

Time to serve

  • Take the skillet out of the oven
  • Spoon the filled pasta shells and sauce into serving bowls and serve immediately

Tips & Variations

  • Don't overcook the shells: Boil them until just shy of al dente because they'll carry on cooking in the oven. If they go in fully cooked they'll go a bit mushy, and nobody wants that.
  • Make the filling generous: Really pack those shells. We know it's tempting to be cautious but more filling means more flavour in every bite, so go for it.
  • Spice it to your taste: The nduja sauce has a good kick but if you want more heat, add a pinch of extra chilli flakes into the sauce while it's cooking. Henry always does this. Ian pretends he doesn't notice.

Why This Works

The trick here is building that nduja sauce low and slow so the spices and tomatoes really get to know each other before the shells go in. What really makes this sing is the contrast between that punchy, smoky sauce and the cool, creamy filling inside the shells. Trust us on this one, don't rush the sauce stage and you'll be rewarded big time.