Green Pea Dal & Pesto Stuffed Conchiglie

Dal Dried Peas Grains and Seeds Hearty Italian Light Pasta Peas Pulses Split Green Peas Split Peas Summer Vegan Vegetarian

by The Cook and Him May 14, 2019

Stuffed conchiglie pasta shells filled with a split green pea dal and home-made pesto, baked in a tangy tomato sauce. Totally vegan and totally flavourful! This Cook & Him recipe is perfect for a weeknight meal.

Split green peas are loaded with fibre, making this recipe deliciously filling. They're the perfect addition to this lighter traditional Italian dish.

Any left-overs can be chilled and reheated - just make sure it's all piping hot before eating!

prep: 20 mins / cook: 1 hour 30 mins / inactive: 0 mins / total: 1 hour 50 mins / quantity: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 red onion
2 to 3 cloves garlic
drizzle of olive oil
1 cup (200g) Split Green Peas
3 cups (750ml) vegetable stock
3 cups (80g) fresh baby spinach
pinch of salt and pepper
4 cups (300g) large conchiglie pasta shells
500g Marinara Sauce - the Cook & Him (who else?) have an excellent recipe or you can use a good quality off-the-shelf jar

For the Pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
½ lemon, juice only
⅓ cup (45g) pine nuts
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
¼ cup oil
3 cloves garlic - peeled

Alternatively you can try our recipe for hemp pesto.

Method

Peel the onion and garlic cloves. Finely dice the onion and crush the garlic and put both into a medium/large heavy based saucepan with a drizzle of olive oil
Gently cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until softened, stirring
Add the split peas and vegetable sotck, stir, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for around 1 hour, stirring occasionally until thick and creamy. Test the peas and cook for a little longer, topping up with veg stock if they're still too firm for you
While the peas are cooking, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta shells for 11 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to prevent any further cooking. Drain again and set aside.
For the Pesto: put everything into a food processor or blender and whizz to a smooth paste
When the peas are cooked stir in the spinach until it wilts and mixes into the peas.
Stir around half the pesto through the peas and taste - add more depending on personal taste. Add salt and pepper as required too
Preheat your oven to 180 Fan / 200 C / 400 F / Gas 6
Pour the marinara sauce into the bottom of a large baking dish or pan
Use a largeish spoon to scoop the peas into the pasta shells then nestle each one into the tomato sauce. Repeat until all the shells are filled
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and crispy. Serve immediately

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