Beef & Tomato Conchiglie

Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall

There are days when all I want is something hot to eat from a bowl and the only utensil is ..

A spoon.

This is one of those days.

One of my favourite pastas to eat with meat. They look like conch shells, in fact the name derives from the Italian word for seashell, 'conchiglia'. The thing I love most about them is that they scoop up every morsel of the following.

200g Beef Mince

1 Onion chopped

1 Red Chilli sliced

2 Garlic Cloves sliced

1/2 Red Pepper chopped

100g Cherry Tomatoes chopped

Glass of Red Wine 

Rosemary sprigs

Conchiglie Pasta Shells

Gently fry the onion, chilli, garlic & pepper in some oil until softened, about 10 minutes

Add the mince, stir & let it brown, season

In go the tomatoes plus the wine (or water if you don't want the alcohol) plus the rosemary

Leave to simmer for 40 minutes

Cook your pasta 10-15 minutes before serving reserving a little of the cooking water

Add the drained shells to the pan & some of the liquor to keep everything saucy, as it were

Remove the herby sprigs & serve

There's rain in the air & it's rather gloomy. A perfect time to shut the blinds & sit down with a big bowl of this.

Not forgetting the spoon, obviously.

AMM