Spicy Beef Conchiglie Pasta

Conchiglie pasta in a spicy beef sauce with fresh Parmesan cheese

A dish simply described as pasta in a beef based tomato sauce will almost inevitably have most people thinking of spag bol. While this is entirely understandable, it is a great shame as there are so many different types of pasta out there and so many ways in which a beef based tomato sauce can be adapted to incorporate a whole range of different flavours. This conchiglie pasta in spicy beef sauce is just one simple example of this adaptation.

Beef is added to a pot and seasoned

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1/2 pound minced/ground beef
1 tablespoon vegetable or sunflower oil
Salt and black pepper
1/2 medium sized red onion
1/4 each of red, green and yellow bell peppers
1 large garlic clove
14 ounce can chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Splash of Tabasco sauce (optional)
2 coffee mugs of dried conchiglie pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to garnish

Beef is carefully browned over a medium heat

Directions

Pour a little vegetable or sunflower oil in to a large pot, just to start the beef off before the fat starts melting. Add the beef and put the pot on to a low to medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to break the beef up and stir it around. As the fat is slowly released, the heat can be increased until all the beef is evenly browned.

Onion, peppers and garlic are added to browned beef

Slice the onion half thinly and add it to the beef along with the seeded and diced peppers. Peel the garlic clove and finely dice before also adding this to the pot. Stir around for a couple of minutes over a low to medium heat, just until the onion is starting to soften and glisten.

Tomatoes and spice are added to browned beef and vegetables

Pour the tomatoes in to the pot and add the smoked paprika. If using the Tabasco sauce, add a few drops at this stage but do be careful - it is potent and powerful stuff!

Spicy beef sauce is brought to a gentle simmer

Stir the tomatoes and spices in to the sauce and bring to a very gentle simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes.

Cooked and drained conchiglie pasta is added to spicy beef sauce

The pasta should be added to a large pot of heavily salted water to simmer for seven or eight minutes. It should then be drained and allowed to steam off and dry out. When the sauce is ready, tip the pasta in to the sauce pot.

Conchiglie pasta is carefully stirred through beef sauce

Use a wooden spoon to gently stir the pasta through the sauce before spooning the combination in to two serving plates and garnishing with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Conchiglie pasta in spicy beef sauce is plated

Roast Chicken Thighs on Conchiglie Pasta in Balsamic Tomato Sauce

Roast chicken thighs on conchiglie pasta in balsamic sauce

Roast chicken is probably not something often associated with being served on pasta but this combination does work very well. The chicken thighs are roasted simply in the oven with some seasoning before being served on a bed of conchiglie pasta in a rich balsamic and tomato sauce. 

Prepared sauce ingredients

Ingredients (Serves 1)

2 whole chicken thighs (skin on)
Salt and black pepper
4 baby plum tomatoes
1/4 red onion, peeled and sliced
1 large garlic clove
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Generous pinch dried basil
Generous pinch dried oregano
1 cup dried conchiglie pasta shells
Freshly chopped parsley to garnish

Directions

Put your oven on to preheat to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.

Season the chicken thighs on the under/flesh side with salt and pepper and with salt only on the skin sides. Lay them skin sides up on a lightly oiled roasting tray and place the tray in to the oven for thirty minutes, or thirty-five minutes for especially large thighs. After this time, pierce the thickest part of each thigh with a skewer (or fork) and ensure the juices run clear. If not, return to the oven for five further minutes and test again. Lift to a heated plate, cover with tinfoil and allow to rest for ten minutes.

Combining balsamic sauce ingredients

When the chicken thighs have been in the oven for about fifteen minutes, pour the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar in to a small saucepan. Wash and dry the tomatoes before cutting them in half down through the centre. Add to the saucepan along with the onion slices before grating in the peeled garlic clove. Add the dried herbs and season with salt and pepper. Stir well with a wooden spoon and place the pot on a low heat until the liquid just starts to simmer. Maintain as low a simmer as possible for about fifteen minutes, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes have broken down and a thick sauce is formed.

Drained conchiglie pasta

The pasta will take eight to ten minutes to cook, depending upon how al dente you wish it to be when it is served. It should be added to a large pot of heavily salted, boiling water, stirred briefly and left to cook for the desired period of time. It should then be drained through a colander or sieve and allowed to steam off and dry out for a couple of minutes.

Balsamic pasta sauce

When the sauce is ready, it will have changed colour, be really thick and gooey and the onion strings will be super soft.

Pasta is added to balsamic sauce

Tip the pasta in to the sauce and stir fold very carefully with a wooden spoon, so as not to break up the soft shells.

Pasta in balsamic sauce

Spoon the pasta in to a deep plate and spread out to form a serving bed for the rested chicken thighs.

Chicken thighs are laid on pasta in balsamic sauce

Lay the chicken thighs on top of the pasta and sauce, garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.

Enjoying roast chicken thighs on balsamic pasta sauce

Roasted Mediterranean Veg with Pasta

Cooked and drained conchiglie pasta is stirred through assorted roasted veg

This is an incredibly simple but ultra tasty and healthy dish, based upon two different popular aspects of Italian cuisine: pasta and sunshine fresh vegetables. Although I'm certainly no vegetarian, I could probably eat something like this just about every night and it is of course incredibly variable if you use different vegetables, pastas and herbs.

Supermarket pack of assorted vegetables ready for roasting

Ingredients

12 ounce pack of mixed roasting Mediterranean vegetables
2 tablespoons olive oil
Generous pinch of dried basil
Generous pinch of dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 coffee mug full of conchiglie pasta (pasta shells)
2 or 3 medium basil leaves, rolled and shredded, to garnish

Mediterranean vegetables ready for roasting

Directions

These oven-ready trays of mixed Mediterranean vegetables are available in many supermarkets but if you can't get hold of one, simply mix and match your own vegetables of choice and cook them in an appropriate ovenproof dish.. This tray included red and yellow bell peppers (capsicums), courgette (zucchini), red onion and cherry tomatoes.

Vegetables are carefully stirred half way through cooking

Start your oven preheating to 220C/450F/Gas Mark 8. Season the vegetables with the dried basil and oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil and mix carefully but well with a wooden spoon. Put the tray in to the oven for half an hour, removing to carefully stir again half way through cooking.

Measuring out a portion of conchiglie pasta

You can measure out the pasta any way you choose but I find that a coffee mug of dry shells is a good indication of how much is required per person.

Conchiglie pasta is added to a pot of heavily salted boiling water

Remember that you need plenty of water in which to cook the pasta. Too little water is what causes pasta to stick as the starch isn't sufficiently diluted as the pasta cooks. The water should also be heavily salted. Bring the water to a boil before adding the pasta to cook for ten minutes.

Conchiglie pasta is thoroughly drained

Drain the pasta thoroughly through a colander or sieve.

Drained pasta is added to tray of roasted vegetables

Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and add the well drained pasta to the tray.

Pasta is carefully stirred through roasted vegetables

Stir the pasta carefully through the vegetables with a wooden spoon.

Pasta and roasted vegetables are plated

Use a slotted spoon to plate the pasta and vegetables.

Fresh basil leaves ready for rolling and slicing

Lay the basil leaves one on top of another, roll and finely slice. Scatter over the plated pasta and vegetables.

A spoon makes eating the pasta and veg easier