Seafood Stuffed Shells
Shells stuffed with scallops, shrimp, spinach and ricotta in a creamy parmesan sauce.
Servings 4
Equipment
- 4-5 qt pot for cooking pasta
- skillet for cooking filling
- 2 qt pot for making sauce
- large cooking dish for baking pasta
- food processor or blender for processing filling
- plastic bag for piping filling
Ingredients
- 8 jumbo pasta shells cooked
- 1 Tbl olive oil
- 1 Tbl butter, salted
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium shallot finely diced
- 1 cup bay scallops small scallops, frozen is fine
- ½ cup salad shrimp frozen is fine
- ½ cup fresh basil finely chopped
- ½ cup frozen spinach drained and squeezed dry
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1 cup parmesan shredded
- dash freshly grated nutmeg
Sauce
- 2 Tbl butter
- 1 Tbl flour
- ¾ cup parmesan (preferably reggiano)
- 1½ cup half and half
- 2 Tbl Dry Sherry or white wine
- 1 tsp lemon juice fresh if you have it
- dash freshly grated nutmeg
- S/P salt and pepper to season
Instructions
Prep
- Prep all ingredients and hold for use. This is called "mise en place" and it will make cooking MUCH easier for you.
Method
- Fill large pot 2/3 with water for pasta and set on high heat to boil.
- Melt butter and olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. When melted, add garlic and shallots. Turn down heat to medium and sweat (do not brown) until translucent.
- Add in scallops and shrimp to shallots and gently cook until they are opaque. 3-4 minutes. Hold.
- While seafood cooks, add spinach and parmesan to food processor. Pulse 2-3 times to break up spinach and incorporate parmesan.
- Season pasta water (which should be at the boil by now) with 2 Tbl of salt and add shells. Moderate heat to a boil, but not boiling over. Cook pasta until al dente - use package instructions for time.
- Add seafood and all pan drippings to spinach in food processor and pulse until incorporated, but NOT a paste. You want to have chunks of seafood here. Add ricotta and nutmeg and pulse once or twice to combine. Check seasoning.
- Check shells for doneness and when finished, drain and rinse with cold water.
- Put mixture from processor into a large plastic bag. Cut off one corner (about ¾ inch from tip) to make a piping bag. Spray baking dish with food release spray and put a few swirls of olive oil in the bottom. Pipe filling into shells and place into baking dish. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375°F.
- This is a bechamel sauce. Melt sauce butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat. When butter is bubbly, add flour and stir for a minute or so to make roux. Add half and half and bring to boil, stirring constantly to incorporate roux. Turn down heat to medium and add parmesan, stirring constantly (use a whisk if you have one). Add nutmeg. You should have a thick, cheesy sauce. If it's too thick, add a little water. If it's too thin, add more parmesan. When you've got the consistency right, turn off heat and check seasoning.
- Pour bechamel sauce over pasta and bake at 375°F for about 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and has browned a little. Let rest 5 minutes before you serve.
- Serve with crusty bread or a green salad.