Pizza Today - October 2021 - 41

I
f stuffed shells were
automobiles, they would be
a flock of big, bright pink
SUVs driving around town.
In any restaurant, the delivery of this
oversized, stuffed and sauced pasta is
just as awesome a sight and usually
followed by smiling faces full of wonderment.
Putting this menu item into
your restaurant repertoire adds that
big " wow " factor but many questions
need to be answered. Do I par cook
the shells for fast service? Do I keep
them filled or fill as ordered? How
do I keep the shells from cracking or
ripping when cooked? Would they sell
well? What kind of stuff shell should I
serve? To start, lets look at the history
of stuffed shells.
Cooks and chefs in the old Italy
didn't make pasta to impress customers.
Instead, each pasta shape and
style were made with purpose. Some
were made for meat sauces, and others
made for soups and still others with
more folds and grooves to accommodate
light sauces. In Tuscany, the wide
pappardelle were made to stand up to
hearty meat sauces where the cavatelli,
from Calabria, holds chunky sauces
in its folded nooks. There are pastas
shaped for the making of a single dish
like lasagna, whose roots can be traced
back to Naples in the Middle Ages
and manicotti, which was originally
made with crepes and made to serve
with traditional Bolognese and béchamel
sauces.
Snail Trail
In 1875, Francesco Bottene invented
the Bigolaro, or " Torchio, " a press that
extruded thick spaghetti, rigatoni and
eventually tagliatelle through a brass
die. This enabled the making of pasta
to spread throughout the Italian countryside.
It also brought about other
extruder inventions to make larger
shapes like shells and cylinders. Here
are some large shell-shaped pastas in
different regions.
Conchiglie is shaped like a conch
shell and has 3 sizes. The small Conchigliette,
the medium Conchiglie and
the Large Conchiglioni which was
made for stuffing. The smaller shells
are perfect for small, chopped salads
and the larger and medium shells are
used with Pasta e Fagioli Verde.
Caccavelle is a giant shell. In
fact, this name translates to " pot " in
Neapolitan dialect and is made by
an artisan pasta factory in Gragnano,
Naples. It looks like a squared pot
with two small ears and is known as
the largest pasta in the world weighing
in at 50 grams. These monsters are
usually made " alla Sorrentina' and filled
with tomato sauce, mozzarella, minced
meat and ricotta.
Lumaconi has been made in the
small town of Gragano, Italy since the
16th century. They are usually filled
with minced meat, ricotta and béchamel
but many versions include spinach,
chicory, tomato and red peppers.
Shell Shocked
Shelled pasta does take time. That
is the reason that most stuffed shells
in Italy are made on weekends, family
holidays and holy days where people
have more time to prepare them.
Almost all large shell recipes call for
boiling the pasta ahead of time for 8 to
12 minutes.
Ripping: Some shelled pastas can
get caught in the fast-bubbling pot
upside down. This puts pressure on
the sides of the shells and will produce
small or large rips down the sides. This
occurs with manicotti also when the
ends of the tube get smashed against
the bottom or sides of the pan.
Cooling: Make sure to quickly cool
the pasta shells. And, unlike other
pastas which benefit from the small
starch coating that clings to the sides
of the pasta and thickens the waiting
sauce, large shells and tubes are much
better rinsed under cool running water.
This may sound sacrilegious in pasta
circles, but this pasta cannot stick to
each other, or it will rip. Some chefs
even spray or brush with extra virgin
to keep the shells from sticking to each
other before filling.
Filling Station
Stuffed shells are such great canvas
for filling that many different proteins
and vegetables are perfect. There are
some practical realities about the size
and the way people will eat the large
shells which preclude the way they
have been prepared in the past.
Cheeses: Ricotta is usually king in
stuffed shells. Pairing with cooked
onion and spinach is a classic. Aged
mozzarella is better than fresh because
of a thicker, chewier bake that stays in
the shells. Cheeses like Taleggio, Brie,
mascarpone and Bel Paese will drain
right out of cylinders and shells because
of their water-like melt. Pecorino
and Parmigiano completes any filling
with an umami-laced flavor that compliments
every meat and vegetable.
Vegetables: Cooked and minced
vegetables are great inside stuffed
shells. Pureed potato, yam, butternut
squash and acorn squash make for
a savory-sweet filling with cooked
sage or spinach. Sautéed arugula and
chicory can add a nice punchy balance
to savory fillings and cream sauces.
Tomatoes can add sweetness but
will break down with cooking. Many
stuffed shells are baked in tomato
sauce to keep the shells hot, cooked
and wet, instead of drying out.
Proteins: Minced meats and meat
sauces abound in traditional Italian
recipes for stuffed shells. Ground beef
with pork is a classic combination
with minced garlic and onion that is
combined with ricotta for extra creamy
stuffed shells. These can be baked with
cream sauces or tomato passata for
brilliant results. Lately, chicken or even
vegan meats can be substituted for
other proteins. Many older recipes add
egg to proteins and cheeses to " set " the
stuffing in the shells. n
JOHN GUTEKANST owns Avalanche
Pizza in Athens, Ohio.
OCTOBER 2021 / PIZZATODAY.COM / 41
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - October 2021

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