Stuffed Pasta Wheels Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta shells in boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir mushrooms and garlic in hot oil until mushrooms are soft, about 7 minutes. Stir spinach and thyme into the mushroom mixture; season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir the mixture until the spinach wilts. Remove the skillet from heat and drain any excess liquid; transfer drained mixture to a large bowl.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Mix ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese with the spinach mixture; season again with salt and pepper and stuff into pasta shells.
• Arrange stuffed shells into a 9x11-inch baking dish. Pour pasta sauce over the shells; top with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is melted and the shells are hot, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Make the dough: Pulse the flour and a big pinch of salt in a food processor a few times. Beat the whole eggs, egg yolk and olive oil in a measuring cup and slowly pour into the food processor with the machine running; process until the dough forms a ball. (If the dough is too sticky, pulse in more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.
• Make the filling: Stir together the ricotta, Parmesan and Pecorino in a bowl. Transfer to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag and snip a corner.
• Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Wrap 3 of the pieces individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Lightly flour the remaining piece of dough and feed through the widest setting on a pasta maker, then fold in half and feed it through again. Move to the next setting and feed the dough through, lightly flouring as needed; repeat until you reach the third-to-last setting. (You should be able to see your hand through the dough.)
• Lay out the sheet of dough on a lightly floured surface. Trim each end so the sheet is about 2 feet long. Halve the dough lengthwise and cut into about 2 1/2-inch squares. Pipe about 1 teaspoon filling on the center of each square. Run a damp finger along the edge of half of the square, then fold over to make a triangle, pinching the edges to seal. Set the triangle on a floured surface. Repeat with the remaining squares. Take one triangle and, with the fold at the bottom, moisten one of the bottom corners and wrap both bottom corners around your pointer finger like a ring, pinching the corners together to seal; transfer to a floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining triangles, then cover the baking sheet lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Repeat the process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough and filling. Refrigerate the pasta, covered, until ready to cook.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 4 to 5 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and toss with your sauce, adding the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the paccheri for 1 minute less than the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain. Rinse the pasta thoroughly with cold water after draining.
• Combine the ricotta with 1/2 cup of the pesto and 2 cups of fontina, then mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a piping bag or resealable bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe the mixture into each paccheri. (This doesn't need to be perfect. If a paccheri is very torn or broken, do not use.) Stand each filled paccheri upright in a 10-inch springform pan until it is packed tightly.
• Thin the alfredo sauce with the reserved pasta water in a bowl, then pour it into the pan over the filled paccheri, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 cups fontina cheese.
• Bake until the mixture is bubbly and the cheese on top is melted, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Drizzle with the rest of the pesto and garnish with the fresh basil. Remove the springform side, then slice and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cheeses and spinach; stuff into shells. Arrange in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over the shells. Cover and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese after baking.

Steps:

• To make the bolognese, heat the oil in a wide ovenproof pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion, celery and carrot with some seasoning for 20 mins until soft and lightly golden. Tip in the beef mince, turn up the heat and fry, stirring regularly, for another 10 mins until the mince browns. Add the garlic, fry for a minute, then pour in the wine and bubble for a few mins more, scraping the pan to release any bits. Stir through the purée, bay leaves and tomatoes, with a canful of water. Simmer for 1½ hrs, covered for the first hour, then remove the lid and bubble until the tomatoes have broken down. Season with salt, pepper, the sugar and balsamic vinegar.
• Tip the pasta shells into a large heatproof bowl with a pinch of salt, and pour over a kettle of boiled water. Cover and leave to soften for 15-20 mins - they need to retain some firmness so you can fill them.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 4 and drain the pasta. Use a fork to mash the mascarpone with the mozzarella, chopped basil, garlic and some black pepper in a bowl.
• The bolognese should be a little wetter than you'd like as the pasta shells will absorb some of the liquid as it bakes. Remove from the heat, giving it a final stir. Using a teaspoon, fill the pasta shells with some of the mascarpone mixture, pressing the mix in with your index finger. Nestle the shells into the sauce, filled-side up. Bake for 20-30 mins until the top is golden and bubbling, and the pasta is tender. Grate over some parmesan and finish with a few basil leaves.