No tomato sauce Mediterranean jumbo shells are stuffed with lamb, spinach, fresh oregano, pecorino, baked in lamb and herb gravy.
Course Pasta
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword No Tomato Sauce Mediterranean Stuffed Shells
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Servings 6servings
Calories 763kcal
Equipment
Large stock pot
Baking dish
Ingredients
24ozJumbo pasta shells
1lbGround lambbeef, turkey or bison
1tspSalt
3tbspOlive oil
2Garlic clovescrushed
6Fresh oregano stems
1tbspSumac
1tbspBlack Cumin Nigella seed powder
1lbSpinach chopped
8Mini Tri-colored peppers thinly sliced round
1tbspLemon juice about 1 lemon
2tbspFlour
2tbspButter
4ozPecorino Cheese sliced, or other mozzarella
Instructions
Cook the pasta shells according to directions, drain, toss lightly in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 crushed clove of garlic and salt to taste. Lay them out on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the chopped onions. Add the lamb, chopped leaves from 3 stems of oregano, salt, black cumin, sumac and remaining crushed garlic. Stir and cook until the lamb is no longer pink.
Add the lemon juice and chopped spinach. Put a lid on, shaking the pan a little to wilt the spinach. Open to stir, folding all the ingredients together. Put the lid on and remove from the burner.
In a small sauté pan, melt the butter on medium low and stir in the flour to make a roux (paste). Carefully drizzle some of the liquid from the pan with the cooked lamb, stirring the roux quickly. Transfer the roux into the pan with lamb and spinach, stirring the roux into the lamb. If a tablespoon of water is needed to deglaze the roux pan, stir around the pan and add that to the lamb as well. Mix the ingredients together.
Preheat the oven to 350.
In a baking pan, brush a little olive oil. Fill the cooked pasta shells with the lamb and spinach filling setting them tightly together in the baking dish.
Place more oregano leaves into the tops of the stuffed shells, a slice of cheese in each shell and thinly sliced peppers if using them.
Cover lightly with foil and bake for 20-minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve.