Baked Conchiglioni Stuffed With Green Pepper Pork Ragu & Ricotta

As many pasta shapes as I have eaten, including when I was touring around Italy, it seems that are still plenty that I haven't tried yet. Yes, they are all pasta, but take on different guises depending on how they are cooked, and indeed what with they are cooked. I have always said spaghetti is my favourite, but we have found a contender!

Whilst looking for some Farfalle pasta two days ago in the shops, I found it sitting beside this conchiglioni. Like the normal pasta shells I have eaten before, but huge. Stuffable in fact. I grabbed a pack with no idea what I was going to do with them but I was excited to see. And for dinner last night this is what I made. Pasta shells stuffed with a green pepper flavoured pork ragu, a little ricotta and baked with a smooth tomato sauce. Alongside a crisp salad, it was delicious. Like bites of heaven.

For the pork ragu:

250g pork mince
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried sage
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 green pepper, seeds removed and halved
2 cloves garlic
100ml white wine
salt & pepper

Heat the oil and add the pork on a medium heat to start cooking. Finely chop one half of the onion and one half of the pepper and add to the pork along with the sage. Put the other halves into a hand blender with the garlic and blitz until you have a paste. Add to the pork. Cook on fairly high for about 4 minutes until the onion and peppers are cooked and then add the wine. Stay on a high heat to reduce most of the wine. Season with salt and pepper and set to one side.

For the tomato sauce:

Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a small saucepan. Add 3 chopped cloves garlic and cook gently for 2 minutes. Add one 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, a handful of fresh chopped basil, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 tsp. salt & 1/4 tsp. of sugar. Cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend, using a stick blender until smooth. Set to one side.

Remaining ingredients & assembling the dish

Approx. 20 jumbo pasta shells
60g ricotta cheese

Set the oven to 180 C. Boil the pasta in a large pan of water for about 8 minutes, until they are nearly, but not completely, cooked. Drain well on kitchen paper and let cool for a moment. Using a dish about 10 x 10 inches, pour half of the tomato sauce into the base of the dish. With a pasta shell in your palm, fill the shell with the pork mix. Top with a teaspoon of ricotta and place into the dish, on top of the sauce. Continue until the dish is full, or you have run out of shells  (its a good idea to place the pasta into the dish before cooking to get an idea of how many you will need - plus a couple of extras for breakages).

Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the stuffed pasta, season with a little salt and black pepper and cover with kitchen foil. Bake covered, for 30 minutes.

Serve with a crisp salad and enjoy!

 

Baked to creamy perfection!

Honey Chicken Bites

This is a dish for those out there who love chicken nuggets. Home made in about 15 minutes, they are juicy and crispy and coated in honey and a rich dressing of honey, mustard and soy sauce.

Its no great cooking feat either. you just make the batter around the chicken in the same bowl - mixed with your fingers,quickly pan fried and drizzled with a quick sauce. Eat them straight away, nice and hot. Its one of those perfect dishes for when you have friends around to watch a movie. They'll love them.. Honey Chicken Bites.

Ingredients:     (Makes about 12-16)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large cubes
2 eggs
flour to coat
1 tsp. paprika
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 tbsp. runny honey
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. soy sauce
Method
Whisk together the honey, soy and mustard. Set to one side.
Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk. Add the chicken cubes to the eggs.  In another bowl mix the flour with the paprika. Add enough of the flour to the chicken and egg mixture to make a thick batter which is just short of dripping.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and take a few pieces of chicken from the batter and fry both sides for about 10 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Repeat with remaining chicken. Drain on kitchen paper and place into serving bowl. Drizzle the crispy chicken with the honey mustard mix and serve immediately. Now that was just too easy wasn't it?!