Spinach Shells Soup Food

CLASSIC STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. Cook pasta shells and rinse with cold water.
• Spread 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan.
• Combine ricotta cheese, half of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and egg in a bowl, along with the wilted spinach. Fill each shell and arrange them in rows in the baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
• Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5-10 minutes until cheese it melted and starting to brown on top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP WITH BEANS AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Remove sausage from casings (if any) and crumble it into a very large pot. (I use a 9-quart Dutch oven.)
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is browned and cooked through.
• Remove sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and spoon out and discard all but about one tablespoon of fat from the pot.
• Lower heat to medium. Add onion, carrots and celery, along with the salt, and stir to coat with fat. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until carrots are fairly tender and veggies are lightly browned in spots.
• Add garlic and cook, stirring, one minute more.
• Stir in tomatoes and their juices, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
• Pour in stock.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to simmer for ten minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta shells to al dente in a separate pot of well-salted water. Drain and toss with the olive oil.
• Back in the big soup pot, add beans, reserved sausage, and spinach.
• Simmer until spinach is wilted.
• Off the heat, stir in parsley and black pepper.
• Ladle soup into bowls, stirring some pasta shells into each. Serve with cheese to pass at the table.

SPINACH SOUP

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the spinach and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the spinach is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mixture to a blender or food processor, pour in 1/4 cup hot water and pulse until pureed. Set aside.
• In a large soup pot, cook the onions in the butter over medium heat until the onions begin to soften. Sprinkle the flour over the top and stir to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes, then pour in the milk, stirring occasionally. Add the salt, cayenne and some black pepper and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in the pureed spinach, then cook until thickened, another 3 to 5 minutes.
• Check the seasonings, adding more salt, black pepper or cayenne as needed. Serve warm.

RICH GARLIC SOUP WITH SPINACH AND PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice and water. Separate the head of garlic into cloves and drop them into the boiling water. Blanch for 30 seconds, then transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and remove the skins from the garlic cloves. They'll be loose and easy to remove. Crush the cloves lightly by leaning on them with the side of a chef's knife.
• Place the garlic cloves in a large saucepan with the 2 quarts water, olive oil, bouquet garni, and salt to taste, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Strain and return the broth to the saucepan. Taste and adjust salt, and bring back to a simmer.
• Add the macaroni shells to the broth and simmer until cooked al dente.
• Distribute the garlic croutons among 6 soup bowls and top each one with a heaped tablespoon of cheese. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Making sure that it is not boiling, whisk in a ladleful of the hot garlic broth.
• Add the spinach to the simmering broth and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until all of the spinach is wilted. Turn off the heat and stir in the tempered egg yolks. Stir for a minute, taste and adjust seasonings. Ladle the soup over the cheese-topped croutons, and serve.

ONE-POT SPINACH BEEF SOUP

Steps:

• In a 6-qt. stockpot, cook beef and garlic over medium heat until beef is no longer pink, breaking up beef into crumbles, 6-8 minutes; drain. Stir in broth, tomatoes and seasonings; bring to a boil. Stir in pasta; return to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until pasta is tender, 7-9 minutes., Stir in spinach until wilted. Sprinkle servings with cheese.

TUSCAN WHITE BEAN & SPINACH SOUP

Steps:

• In a large sauce pan, sautee the shallots & garlic in the olive oil.
• Add broth, tomatoes, beans and rosemary to pot. Season with black and red pepper. Bring to boil.
• Add pasta and cook 12 minutes. If the soup seems too thick for your liking add a bit more broth.
• Add spinach and cook until wilted.

SPINACH-RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; season with salt. (You should have about 4 heaping cups of sauce.)
• Make the stuffed shells: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook as the label directs for baking, about 9 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then finely chop.
• Put the spinach in a large bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir until combined.
• To assemble, spread about half of the sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish. Evenly fill the shells with the spinach-ricotta mixture using a spoon, or pipe it in using a pastry bag. Arrange the shells side by side, open-side up, in the baking dish on top of the sauce, then top with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through and the sauce is simmering around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until any shells or cheese poking through the sauce are lightly browned in spots, about 10 more minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

MUSHROOM-SPINACH STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• 1 large egg, lightly beatenMake the stuffed shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook until slightly softened but still firm, about 7 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drizzle with olive oil and toss; set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook, undisturbed, until golden in spots, about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 more minutes. Add the spinach and stir until heated through, about 2 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Finely chop the spinach-mushroom mixture and combine in a bowl with the cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, egg, basil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of the filling; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the tomato sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until lightly golden, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, then rinse out the can with 1 cup water and add to the skillet; add 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the skillet and rinse out the blender.
• Make the cheese sauce: Combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan and egg in the blender and puree until smooth.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch flameproof baking dish with olive oil and pour in half of the tomato sauce. Add the stuffed shells, then top with the remaining tomato sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes; uncover and continue baking until bubbly, 15 to 20 more minutes. Turn on the broiler; drizzle the shells with the cheese sauce and broil, about 2 minutes.

CREAMY SPINACH SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large lidded saucepan, add the onion and garlic and fry gently for 5-6 minutes until softening. Stir in the potato and continue to cook gently for 1 minute. Pour in the stock and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the potato starts to cook. Pour in the milk and bring up to a simmer, then stir in half the spinach and the lemon zest. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the spinach has completely wilted down. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
• Pour the soup into a blender (preferably) or food processor, add the remaining spinach (this will keep the soup bright green and fresh tasting) and process until silky smooth - you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your machine. (The soup may now be frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost in the microwave or overnight in the fridge. The soup may lose some of its vibrancy on freezing, but the flavour won't be impaired.) Return to the pan and reheat. Taste and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. You may like to dilute the soup with a little extra stock if too thick. Ladle the soup into bowls and swirl in the cream

CREAMY SHELLS WITH TUNA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly, and cook until slightly thickened and bubbling, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and let sauce cool slightly.
• In a food processor, combine bun, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, and red-pepper flakes. Process until fine crumbs form. Transfer half the mixture to a large bowl and combine with spinach, tuna, and half the sauce; season with salt and pepper. Fill each shell with 2 heaping tablespoons spinach mixture and place in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and breadcrumb mixture. Bake until sauce is bubbling and breadcrumbs are golden, about 20 minutes.

CHEESY SPINACH SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Sauté the onion in oil. Once the onions have caramelized, add the spinach and sauté for another 3 minutes.
• Puree the onion and spinach and set aside.
• Mix together the cottage cheese, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Once mixed, add the onion and spinach puree. Salt and pepper to your liking.
• Fold in the slightly beaten egg into your mixture.
• Stuff each shells with however much stuffing you'd like. I normally do about two spoonfuls each. As you stuff each shell, place them in a greased 9x13 baking pan.
• Pour your favorite spaghetti sauce over the shells and sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered, or until the top is golden brown.