Ingredients
Serves 2
- 60g pancetta, cubed
- 1tbsp tomato puree
- Can of chopped tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- Couple of handfuls fresh baby spinach
- 50ml single cream
- Conchiglioni (giant pasta shells) - about 250g
- Fresh basil
- A handful of freshly grated parmesan
- A little extra virgin olive oil
- 1 dessert spoon white sugar
- 75ml vegetable stock
Instructions
I used a deep non-stick frying pan for the sauce - you could use a saucepan obviously, but I was going for speed.
You can prepare the pasta slightly in advanceif you like, rinsing with cold water after cooking (but be careful it doesn't all just stick together).
It's a bit fiddly, but it really is worth it.
- Dry fry the pancetta on a medium-high heat until slightly browned.
- Turn down heat to medium. Add the garlic and briefly fry but don't allow to brown or burn - add a little water to prevent this if necessary.
- Add the tomato puree and stir in, coating the pancetta and garlic. Cook whilst continuously stirring for a couple of minutes.
- Add stock and can of tomatoes. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and stir in. Toss in the spinach and stir.
- Continue simmering until most visible liquid has evaporated and the sauce is of a medium thickness.
- Stir in the cream and season with lots of black pepper and only a little salt (the pancetta is salty).
- Spoon into the cold pasta shells and top them all with the grated parmesan. Bake in a hot oven for a few minutes until the cheese has melted and is starting to brown. Serve and drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with fresh basil. Yum yum yum.