Stuffed Seafood Shells

I have to say I'm a little bit proud of this one. Not because it was perfect - I think there's room for improvement, and plus I broke a major cooking rule with the combination of cheese and seafood - but because I truly made it up. Not a family recipe, not an improvisation - just made it up. Which, upon reflection, is probably why there was room for improvement - but hey, whatcha gonna do.

This made way more than we could eat. I'd say it'd serve 3-4 people; it does not make for good leftovers. If you have ideas for how to improvise on this, I'm taking suggestions. But overall, my only real hesitation is the ricotta-seafood combo (maybe just the scallops with some other seasoning for the filling? omit ricotta?); it was really pretty tasty.


You'll need:
1 egg
3/4-1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 lb bay (small) scallops, chopped in food processor
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced or roughly chopped
Olive oil
28 oz can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 lb seafood "medley" (I found a great one, frozen, that had cooked clams, calamari, mussels, shrimp, etc.), defrosted
18-20 jumbo shells

Preheat your oven to 350. In a bowl, combine your ricotta, egg, parsley, and scallops. Mix, then season with salt and a little pepper. Set aside in the fridge.

Meanwhile, get your water boiling and cook your shells. Cook them very al dente - probably a minute or two less than you usually would. When they're done, rinse them briefly in cold water.

Prep an oven dish by drizzling it with olive oil, then add your San Marzano tomatoes. Break them up with a wooden spoon, then add garlic, dried parsley if you want, the fresh tomatoes, and more salt and pepper. Add your seafood medley and stir around a little.

Take each pasta shell and fill it with a spoonful of the ricotta-scallop filling. Place the shell in the oven dish and nestle it in the tomato sauce. Repeat until your dish is full; use a spoon to drizzle some of the sauce over the tops of the shells as well.

Pop the oven dish in the oven and cover with tinfoil; cook for about 30 minutes. Remove the tinfoil, turn oven to 400, and cook another 15 minutes. (The sauce came out kind of liquidy - maybe not using tinfoil would help the sauce thicken. Your call.)

Serve!