Recipes › Tomato (Cherry) › Cherry Tomato and Ricotta Stuffed Conchiglioni with Basil Brown Butter
Cherry Tomato and Ricotta Stuffed Conchiglioni with Basil Brown Butter
Giant pasta shells are filled with a creamy ricotta mixture, then baked on a bed of burst cherry tomatoes that cook down into a vivid, jammy sauce beneath them. A basil brown butter poured over at the end adds a nutty richness that lifts the whole dish. It looks impressive but is straightforward to assemble, and the tomatoes genuinely do all the work in the oven.
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Ingredients
- 750 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 250 conchiglioni (giant pasta shells)or large pasta tubes such as paccheri
- 400 g ricotta
- 60 g Parmesan, finely grated
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 20 g fresh basil leaves, larger leaves torn, smaller left whole
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground
- 20 g extra Parmesan, finely grated (optional)
Contains: cereals gluten, eggs, milk.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil.
- Tip the halved cherry tomatoes into a large, shallow ovenproof dish (roughly 30 x 25cm). Add the sliced garlic, olive oil, caster sugar, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Toss everything together and spread into an even layer.About 3 min
- Cook the conchiglioni in the boiling water for 2 minutes less than the packet instructions — they should be quite underdone as they will finish cooking in the oven. Drain carefully, toss with a small splash of olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside to cool slightly.About 10 min
- While the pasta cooks, mix the ricotta, grated Parmesan, beaten egg, lemon zest and the remaining half teaspoon of salt together in a bowl until smooth. Season with black pepper.About 3 min
- Using a small spoon or a piping bag, fill each pasta shell generously with the ricotta mixture. Nestle the filled shells, open side up, into the cherry tomato base, pressing them down gently so they are sitting in a single layer on the tomatoes.About 10 min
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes until the shells are tender, the filling is set and the tomatoes have collapsed into a sauce around the shells.About 35 min
- About 5 minutes before the pasta comes out of the oven, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Swirl the pan regularly and let the butter foam, then continue until the foam subsides and the milk solids turn a deep golden brown and smell nutty. Remove from the heat immediately and add the basil leaves — they will sizzle and crisp slightly.About 5 min
- Remove the baked shells from the oven. Spoon the basil brown butter over the top, scatter with extra Parmesan if using, and serve straight from the dish.
Tips
- Do not fully cook the pasta shells before stuffing — they turn to mush if you do. Two minutes short of al dente is the right point.
- If your cherry tomatoes are particularly sweet (late summer ones often are), leave out the caster sugar and taste first.
- A piping bag makes filling the shells much faster and neater than a spoon. A zip-lock bag with a corner snipped off works perfectly well.
Ring the changes
- Stir 100g of drained, chopped sun-dried tomatoes or finely chopped black olives into the ricotta filling for a more intensely savoury result.
- For a non-vegetarian version, mix 150g of crumbled Italian sausage (cooked and cooled) into the ricotta filling before stuffing.
Keeping it
Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat covered with foil in a 180°C oven for 15 minutes until piping hot. Not suitable for freezing.
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