Stuffing shells. Large stuffed shells: recipe, photo

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Pasta dishes are considered everyday and quite simple. However, even from them you can cook a real masterpiece that will decorate the festive table. One of these dishes is shells with minced meat. Large stuffed pasta with delicious sauce looks quite unusual and appetizing.

Ingredients for stuffed shells

First of all, large pasta is needed. They are also called conchiglions, lumakoni, cannelloni. This pasta is widely used in Italy for the preparation of both main dishes and appetizers and desserts. They are in the form of tubes, shells. You need to take them about half a kilogram. Minced meat (pork, beef, assorted) is used as a filling in the classic recipe. You also need to take 1 onion and 1 carrot. For the meat filling, you need 1 egg. If we stuff shells according to a simple and well-known recipe, then sour cream, tomato paste, greens are used for the sauce.

Cooking process

First of all, you need to prepare the filling. Minced meat is s alted, pepper, other spices, and onions are added. Then an egg is beaten in. So, now we stuff the shells. Importantput a little more minced meat, as it will decrease in volume during cooking. Put the pasta in a saucepan or baking dish and pour over the sauce. Shells should be completely covered with it. Simmer until pasta is fully cooked. For the first 20 minutes, the form can be covered with foil. After about 40 minutes, shells with minced meat will be ready. Put them on a plate and pour over the sauce. If desired, you can sprinkle with herbs or grated cheese.

Dish sauce

Stuffed pasta (shells) with minced meat goes well with Bechamel sauce. It's easy to prepare. To do this, melt 150 grams of butter in a frying pan. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to it. Stir this mixture thoroughly and carefully pour in 150 grams of warm cream. It is important to ensure that no lumps form. The sauce should be s alted and peppered. Another variation of the filling is from cheese and sour cream. Hard cheese should be grated on a fine grater and mixed with sour cream. Then you need to add a couple of tablespoons of wine and s alt. Large stuffed shells can also be served with tomato filling. To prepare this sauce, thinly sliced onions, along with garlic, are fried in a small amount of oil. Then diced tomatoes and a small amount of sour cream are added to the pan. The sauce must be thickened with flour. The main rule when preparing filling for stuffed shells is that there should be a lot of it. All pasta must be completely covered with sauce, otherwise the ends that will be outside will not cook.

Cooking Features

Some housewives pre-boil them before stuffing shells. This is necessary in order to reduce the cooking time. In addition, if we stuff shells with salad or sweet stuffing, then they, accordingly, should already be cooked. To do this, the pasta is boiled in a large saucepan, there should be enough space so that the shells do not stick together and stick to the walls of the dish. You need to cook them for 10-12 minutes until al dente - so they remain quite elastic and do not lose their shape. It is best to try one, so you can accurately determine the state of readiness. Then the water is drained, the pasta is rinsed with cold water and spread on a large dish. So they should stand for a while and cool. You can cook stuffed shells in a slow cooker. Filled pasta is laid out in a bowl and poured with sauce. Then we set the “Baking” mode for 20 minutes, after this time we turn on the “Extinguishing” mode for 30-40 minutes. In general, for cooking large shells in a slow cooker, you can use different modes, including steaming.

Seafood Pasta Filling

To diversify your diet, you can use shrimp as a filling. If we stuff shells with such a filling, then they must already be pre-boiled. Ready seafood must be cleaned, finely chopped and mixed with squeezed garlic, grated cheese and herbs. This filling is sprinkled with lemon juice and olive oil. Another filling option iscanned fish. Sardine, pink salmon are kneaded with a fork, grated boiled egg, cheese (hard or melted) and mayonnaise are added. You can also finely chop the green onion. Shells are stuffed with all this. Fish fillets are also great. Finely chop it, add carrots and onions. Raw pasta is stuffed with minced meat, poured with creamy sauce and sent to the oven. Another variation is crab sticks and melted cheese.

Shells and Stuffing Ideas

For the preparation of stuffed pasta, you can use any kind of cheese: cottage cheese, cheese, feta. It is mixed with finely chopped herbs, garlic, if necessary, s alted. Pairs well with cheese and nuts. If the filling (for example, from cheese) is a bit dry, then add sour cream or matsoni. An original appetizer will turn out if you add finely chopped pickled cucumber to the cheese. You can use chicken for the meat filling. It must first be boiled or fried with onions and carrots, you can add champignons. A great option for quick cooking is sausage or ham filling. You can fry onions to it and add chopped sausages to the pan for a few minutes. Then mix it all with grated hard cheese. In general, you can use any toppings or salads to prepare a snack with stuffed shells. The main thing is that their components are interconnected with sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese. Another option for minced meat is finely diced tomato, pepper, cucumber with olive oil.

Stuffing shells with sweetstuffing

For lovers of sweets, we recommend preparing a filling based on cottage cheese. You can add a variety of products to it: sugar or honey, vanilla, nuts, raisins, candied fruits, berries or fruits. So that the filling is not dry, one or two eggs are added to the cottage cheese. The shells are stuffed and laid out in a baking dish. Pour in sour cream and send to the oven until the pasta is ready. You can sprinkle them with sugar and cinnamon on top. Best served hot with jam or sour cream sauce.