Paccheri Pasta filled with Ricotta and Chard

INGREDIENTS for 4 servings:

300 gr (10.6 onces) paccheri pasta
500 gr (17.6 onces) chard
250 gr (8.8 onces) ricotta
1 egg
100 gr (1.8 onces) grated parmesan
salt, ground fresh pepper, grated nutmeg to taste
500 ml  (2 cups) besciamella sauce (the recipe in this page) or light cream

For the filling:
bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the chard and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain the chard into a colander, and, when cool, squeeze it very well.
Put the chard in a bowl and cut in small pieces. Add the ricotta, salt, nutmeg, pepper, parmesan  (50 gr) and the egg. Mix well and set aside.

Bring another pot of salted water to a boil. When it is boiling add the paccheri and cook, stirring occasionally. Check on the pasta box the cooking time and drain the pasta 5 minutes earlier than the right time (the paccheri will finish to cook in the oven). Rinse with cold water.
Coat the bottom of a baking dish with 2 tbsp of  the besciamella or light cream. Spoon the filling into the paccheri tubes using a teaspoon and lay, side by side, on the baking dish.

Then pour on the besciamella or cream, sprinkle with Parmesan (the last half).

Pre-heat oven to 240 °C and cook for 20 mins until pasta topping is golden.

Tips: if you don’t have time to prepare Paccheri, just steam the chard and season with olive oil and lemon juice. We love it!