Stuffing these pasta shells is simple and oh so worth it! Everyone will love this dish. It is rich, flavourful and rustically gorgeous. For a family meal, you just can't get any better! Scallops and shrimp nestled into a bed of pasta stuffed with cream cheese & crab with hints of Jalapeno, sun dried tomatoes and chives - every bite is a win.
theingredients
20-24 Large pasta shells
Stuffing
340 g cream cheese, room temperature
1 shallot
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 cup rock crab
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
Juice of a lemon
1/4 cup sun dried tomato
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to season
Garlic Shrimp & Scallops
1 tsp oil
1 shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 Tbsp Butter
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup bay scallops, washed and patted dry
20 large shrimp, raw
Sauce
1 large shallot diced
2 clove of garlic, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
2 Tbsp chopped chives
Salt and Pepper to season
Topping
1/4 cup Gruyere Cheese
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
themethod
- Preheat the oven to 425F
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil
- Add pasta shells and cook until al-dente – approximately 7 minutes – about 80% done.
- remove from water and set aside.
- Place room temperature cream cheese into a bowl
- Add diced shallots, garlic, crab, diced Jalapeno peppers, and sun dried tomato.
- Season and mix.
- Add parsley and combine.
- Using a spoon, stuff the pasta shells filling well
- Prepare the shrimp and scallops by adding oil to a skillet.
- Add shallots and garlic and cook for 30 seconds until starting to soften
- Add butter and allow to melt
- Add juice of half a lemon
- Turn the burner off and add scallops and shrimp tossing the garlic butter to coat. Warm the shellfish through, but they will not be fully cooked.
- Prepare you sauce by adding oil to another pan. Add shallots, garlic and cook for 30 seconds to soften.
- Add juice of 1/2 a lemon and cream
- Leave over medium low heat and reduce for 6 minutes.
- Remove from heat, add chopped chives and season.
- Pour extra garlic butter from shrimp and scallops into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
- Place stuffed pasta shells in rows to fit snuggly in the dish.
- Drizzle sauce overtop being sure to cover each shell with some sauce.
- Put shrimp in between the shells
- Place scallops overtop of the pasta shells and drizzle with any remaining garlic butter.
- lightly sprinkle Gruyere Cheese over the whole dish.
- Garnish with chopped parsley
- Place sliced lemons into the crevices between the shells.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes until cheese is crispy and seafood is cooked through.
chef spencer in action!