Packages, surprises, bundles are all still welcome in this fickle world. Take the time to stop and enjoy the simpler things in life, including food. Serving little surprises are most welcome and they are usually met with a positive reaction from your dinner guests.Today we’re stuffing pasta shells. You know, the jumbo shells…the bigger the better!
I’ve been waiting patiently to make this dish and it’s not like I’ve been holding back on you – I’ve just been waiting for the recipe. This dish is courtesy of my friend, Chef Dina Nikolaou. I first saw her make this dish back in the days when she had a cooking segment on Proino Kafe with Eleonora Meleti. I had quickly jotted-down the recipe but I was concerned that I have missed some steps and therefore held back hoping to watch a repeat of the episode or find the recipe in print.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the cooking segment was replayed by Ant1 Satellite (Greek TV station) who plays previously taped cooking segments for the Greeks of the Diaspora. I didn’t miss anything from the recipe and it’s my pleasure to share this quick, easy and you know the rest…delicious recipe!
Before I get on with the dish, what’s Dina Nikolaou been up to since her Proino Kafe days? Well, she’s diving time between Athens and Paris (France). Dina and her sister run the very quaint yet stylish Greek restaurant called Evi Evane in the St. Germain area. Back in Athens, Dina has just done a second launch of her cookbook, “My Mother’s Cuisine”,
Chef Dina’s time is taken up the most with her daily appearance on the Greek television station STAR with her very own cooking show, “Nistikous Praktores”, airing Monday to Friday at 11:00 am in Greece. You may catch Dina in the kitchen on STAR’s microsite with all her cooking segments here.
You hungry yet? Good! This recipe is both easy and delicious. You’ll need jumbo pasta shells, fresh ricotta cheese, Feta cheese, roasted red peppers and a marinara sauce. Take the time to make your own sauce, please. In Dina’s recipe, she also had some eggs in the filling and dried Greek oregano. I’ve omitted the egg for a lighter filling and brightened up the flavour with chopped fresh Greek basil.
Everyone loved this dish last night! “A pleasant surprise”….”rich flavours yet still a light meal”…”this could be a main course with salad”…or “this would be a wonderful pasta course”. Anyway this dish makes it on your table, your dinner guests will love it and surely ask you for the recipe. Without further ado, here’s the dish:
Pasta Shells Stuffed With Roasted Red Peppers and Feta
(serves 4-6)
30 jumbo pasta shells
1 recipe of tomato sauce (below)
heavy (whipping) cream
grated Kefalotyri cheese (or Romano cheese)
Filling
200 gr. of fresh ricotta cheese (myzithra_
200 gr. of Feta cheese, crumbled
5-6 roasted red peppers (peeled, seeded and chopped)
1/3 cup fresh Greek basil leaves
splash of Greek extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Marinara Sauce
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 medium onions, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cans of plum tomatoes (796ml), pureed
2 tsp. of dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add your olive oil along with the diced onions and minced garlic. A add a pinch of salt and allow the onions and garlic to sweat down for about 5-7 minutes. Now add the pureed plum tomatoes, turn the heat up to bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Season with salt and add black pepper to taste. Simmer until the sauce has thickened (not runny) and add the dried Greek oregano and reserve.
- In the meantime, place a large pot of water over your stove-top and bring to a boil. Add a good amount of salt and then add your pasta shells. Boil for 6 minutes, drain and then shock/cool in cold water and strain. Reserve.
- In the meantime, make your filling. Peel the charred skins off your red peppers and remove the stem and seeds. Chop and add into your food processor with a glug of olive oil, the ricotta cheese, crumbled Feta and Greek basil and process until smooth. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Pre-heat your oven to 350F, position rack in the middle. You will need a large round baking tray with a rim. Now take your Marinara sauce sauce and with your ladle, pour enough sauce to cover the bottom of the round baking tray.
- With a small spoon, take a tsp. of filling and with your fingers, carefully open the shell and place the filling inside the shell. Arrange the stuffed shell in the pan. Repeat stuffing the shells with filling and arrange around the edge of the pan in a circular order.
- Spoon a tsp. of heavy cream over each shell and top with some grated Kefalotyri cheese. Place in your pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.
Serve with a Tsantali Halkidiki red.
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© 2007-2010 Peter Minakis
Sounds so delicious & a beautiful presentation from you as usual.
Good to see Greek basil in some recipes…I find it’s quite underutilised. This looks filling, tasty and downright amazing Peter!
feta and pasta, I mean seriously is there any better combo? where the hell am I going to find greek basil around this hick town? I hope whole foods has it. (printing this one)
Next time when i have guest i am so so gonna make this. Looks so so delicious.
splendidi!! un piatto buonissimo!! ciao!
So scrumptious!
Cheers,
Rosa
I just made spaghetti I should have made these instead!
I love anything pasta. This sounds so good with the cheese and peppers.
Looks awesome. And pretty. Maybe after lent?
Wonderful! Bet the briny feta is perfect with the flavor of the pepper & Greek basil (which, btw, I’ve only had once… I plan to seek out a plant this summer so that I can enjoy it’s benefits whenever I like!)
Î Î®Ï„ÎµÏ Ï€Î¬Ïα Ï€Î¿Î»Ï Ï‰Ïαίο! Πάω να βÏω jumbo pasta shells!
So good! Mmmm all flavours marry so well in this pasta dish :D. I could only eat 50 grs of pasta for dinner (diet rules)… how many shells are this? But weekends are done to break rules, aren’t they? ;D
Roasted peppers and feta cheese would be a welcome surprise in a pasta shell. Looks like a delicious dish.
Don’t worry. I always make my own marinara!
Oh! They must be delicious! I adore pasta with any kind of sauce!
Any leftover for me???
This looks so wonderful! All of my favourite things together. Maybe a handful of olives in the sauce would make my joy complete but I really don’t have the patience to stuff pasta shells!
Love the heavy Greek accent of these stuffed shells.
Τι εντυπωσιακό πιάτο Peter!!
Και με αγαπημÎνα υλικά, νοστιμότατο!
Φιλιά, καλό βÏάδυ!
Great blog !! delicious !!
Not e to find big pasta shells stuck on fridge……… I love the caramelized bits of sauce…….
I’ve made all sorts of stuffed shells and pastas but never one with feta before. I can imagine the incredible flavor it gives. What a fun recipe!
ΜπÏάβο Peter… αν και στην κατσαÏόλα μου σήμεÏα ετοιμάζω φασολάδα, με Îκανες να θÎλω pasta… you are a bad influence!!
I am still trying to find those darn pasta shells Peter! Whenever I really want to make this dish, tehy are always out of stock!
καλημÎÏα ΠητεÏ, απο τις πιο ωÏαίες παÏουσιάσεις που κυκλοφοÏοÏν σχετικα με τα ”καλαθάκια” είναι σίγουÏα η δική σου !!! μπÏαβο !! πολλά φιλια !!
you’re so right about wrapped things always being welcome. (sidenote: my family has stopped wrapping christmas and birthday presents, but i now insist that they put mine in boxes so i can wrap them myself…is that odd?) this dish is beautiful and i love the filling. i always was an eager unwrapper. :)
Now, Pasta stuffed with feta AND roasted peppers – I am loving it! :)
This looks so good, I bet it’s really flavoursome! I will need to pick up some jumbo pasta shells upon my next food shop!
I love stuffed shells. This dish looks so divine! And I totally agree, you must! must! must! make your own marinara sauce! I wish we could ban Prego and Ragu and all that from the store. Homemade sauce is the best!
This is an absolutely delicious twist on a classic Peter with your Greek flair!!
The stuffed shells look delicious. The Feta and red peppers in the filling must be great and the heavy cream added over top can only mean the dish gets even better!
Love the new featured homepage, of course I did it first (heheh).
But these shells, oh my. I don’t even need to eat them I am comforted just by looking at them! I love the combination of roasted red peppers and feta. Yumm!
I can’t wait to try these.
Oh gawd Petah, you did it again. This is exactly what i want right now. It looks insanely good.
I’m bookmarking this page for the recipe and to remember to visit Dina’s restaurant next time i’m in Paris. Oui, oui!
Your shells look amazing! I am a huge fan of feta and I also love kefalotyri. I know that I will just love these.
This sounds amazing! I love stuffed shells. When it’s stuffed with roasted red peppers and feta, it sounds like it had a ton of flavor.
What a combination! I love everything about this and can’t wait to try it.
P,
Made these this weekend, and everyone raved!
Will post them next week!
Thanks for the recipe!
S.
Wow! this looks absolutely scrumptious! I love how the shells are stuffed and well the combo of roasted red peppers and feta- Ya can’t go wrong there!
These look delicious! Roasted red peppers and feta are a natural combo. I actually just stuffed some chicken with goat cheese & roasted red peppers the other day, which is a “staple” around here that is easy and tasty, too.
What a tasty stuffing for those pasta shells!
I know I’m a few years late but never too late to try these.
I didn’t know there was anything called Greek Basil.
This summer, I thought I picked up Greek Oregano but when I got home to plant it, it didn’t look the same OR did it smell the same. That’s when I read the label “Greek Basil” First time I knew it existed.
Watch, I’ll purposely look for it next year and won’t be able to find it. (isn’t that the way it always is?)