Ingredients for 4 portions of conchiglie or 28 stuffed seashell pasta noodles:
3/4 pound ground beef,
1 large egg,
1 small chopped onion,
1 garlic clove, minced,
2 tablespoons pesto sauce,
1 cup table cream,
2 tbsp. tomato sauce,
1 tablespoon butter,
salt and pepper to taste,
fresh chopped parsley.
Recipe: Bring 1 litre of water to a rolling boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt and boil the noodles al dente. Cool them down with cold water and leave them aside until you are ready with the stuffing. For the stuffing: Mix the ground beef with the egg and add the tomato sauce, chopped onion and the chopped parsley. Add some breadcrumbs if desired (optional). Season to taste and fill the seashell noodles with the ground beef stuffing. You do not need to pre-cook the stuffing. In a frying pan, heat the butter and cook the garlic until soft, then add the stuffed noodles with the opening facing the bottom of the pan, to sear the stuffing. Add the pesto and table cream to the pan and bring the sauce to a boil, but do not reduce the sauce on the stove. Instead put the pan in a preheated oven and leave it to cook there for about 10 minutes.
Make sure you are using a pan with a metal or oven-proof handle. If the sauce thickens, before the stuffing is cooked, simply pour an ounce of water or more cream in the pan with the stuffed conchiglie.
About the author: George Krumov is a Red Seal certified chef with many years of culinary experience working around the world in Europe, the Middle East, the cruise line industry and North America. In the last two decades he has headed the kitchens of several restaurants in Canada, and ran his own restaurant.
