Shells Baked With Spinach, Herbs, And Walnuts

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 1/4 cups finely chopped onions
• 2 fresh bay leaves (or 1 dried bay leaf)
• 1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups tightly packed baby spinach
• 1 cup tightly packed baby arugula
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh summer savory
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped chives
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup cubed fontina
• 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 lb dried ridged pasta shells (or conchiglie rigate)
• 3 tablespoons sour cream or 3 tablespoons creme fraiche

Recipe

• 1 combine the onions, bay leaves, garlic, butter, olive oil, and salt in a small saucepan.
• 2 saute over med-low heat until the onions and garlic are very soft and completely cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• 3 add the cream and scald—heat just until little bubbles form around the outside edge; set aside off the heat for 30 minutes to steep.
• 4 bring a big pot of water to a boil for the pasta; heat oven to 500°.
• 5 in another saucepan, add the spinach and arugula to boiling salted water; cook, stirring often, until the greens are wilted, about 2 minutes; drain in a colander.
• 6 when the greens are cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as possible.
• 7 transfer to a cutting board and finely chop.
• 8 combine the chopped greens, sage, basil, marjoram, summer savory, and chives in a large bowl.
• 9 add in walnuts, the cheeses, and a good scraping of nutmeg.
• 10 remove and discard the bay leaves and add the cooled cream and sour cream to the mixing bowl; stir to combine.
• 11 taste and add salt, if needed; set aside.
• 12 generously salt the boiling water and drop in the pasta; cook, stirring often, to parboil, 4-5 minutes (the pasta will be too hard to eat; it will continue to cook in the oven).
• 13 drain the shells, reserving about 1 cup of the water.
• 14 toss the pasta with the ingredients in the bowl until well combined; you want the shells to capture some of the walnuts, herbs, and cheese in their crannies.
• 15 add ½ cup reserved pasta water and toss again.
• 16 transfer to individual shallow baking dishes or a large shallow gratin dish.
• 17 there should be ample liquid surrounding the pasta.
• 18 if not, nap with additional pasta water.
• 19 bake until bubbly and hot, with some of the pasta shells browning on top; serve immediately (no cooking time was given in this last step, so you will have to use your judgment).