This verdant pasta has two of my favorite things—greens and cheese—in abundance. Stuffed shells classically employ the oversized sort, each piece of pasta as big as a baby’s fist. But I love riffing on this technique with medium shells too. This swap means, instead of making a more involved filling with multiple ingredients—and stuffing each one by hand—you can simply sprinkle the open-armed noodles with a pungent cheese like feta and call it a day.
The green sauce draws inspiration from a few places, including Joshua McFadden’s kale sauce from Six Seasons, Chris Morocco’s vividly hued pesto, and Priya Krishna’s Spinach and Feta Cooked Like Saag Paneer, which I’ve made more times than I can count. You can call in prewashed, pre-chopped kale (8–10 oz.) if you’re in a rush. Use whatever nut is around: pistachios or walnuts, toasted or untoasted, salted or unsalted. But do seek out feta by the block and break it up yourself; the pre-crumbled stuff tends to be chalky and bland.
Find more green-hued recipes here: Gorgeous Green Shrimp; Peruvian-Style Tofu With Creamy Cilantro Sauce; and Kale Pesto With Whole Wheat Pasta.
Recipe information
Total Time
40 minutes
Yield
2 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cook 1 large bunch curly or Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn into pieces, and 3 garlic cloves in a large pot of boiling salted water until kale is bright green and wilted, about 1 minute. Using tongs, transfer kale and garlic to a rimmed baking sheet and let cool slightly.
Step 2
Add 6 oz. medium shells to same pot of boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer pasta to a heatproof bowl and immediately toss with 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil.
Step 3
Transfer kale and garlic to a blender and add 1 cup pasta cooking liquid, 2 oz. feta, broken into pieces (about ½ cup), ¼ cup raw pistachios or walnuts, 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt. Blend until smooth; taste and season with more salt if needed. Pour sauce into a shallow ovenproof baking dish that’s wide enough to spread out pasta in a single layer (a 13x9" or 3-qt. baking dish work well).
Step 4
Place a rack in upper third of oven and heat broiler. Scatter pasta shells evenly over sauce, facing domes downward. (It’s okay if some overlap.) Evenly sprinkle remaining 4 oz. feta, broken into pieces (about 1 cup ), on top and drizzle with oil.
Step 5
Broil until pasta edges and feta pieces are starting to brown, 5–10 minutes (depending on your broiler; watch carefully as broilers vary in their intensity). Season with freshly ground pepper. Finely grate zest of 1 lemon over. Cut lemon into wedges and serve with pasta for squeezing over.
