Jumbo shells stuffed with chicken and four cheeses, baked under a garlic cream sauce. Eight servings.
The stated time does not cover the work
Fifty minutes.
Grilling the chicken takes ten, shredding and cooling adds more, boiling the shells takes another ten to twelve, the sauce five, filling twenty shells another ten, and the bake twenty five.
Seventy minutes is a realistic total, and that assumes you overlap the shells and the chicken. Plan accordingly rather than starting at half past six expecting to eat at twenty past seven.
The shells need cooking, and the recipe never says how
Twenty jumbo shells, listed as cooked and drained.
Boil them in well salted water for around ten minutes, or two minutes short of the package timing. They get another twenty five minutes in the oven under sauce and they will soften further.
Cooked to fully done they tear as you fill them and collapse in the dish.
Drain and spread them on a tray rather than leaving them in a colander, where they stick to each other and rip when you separate them.
The mozzarella is listed as divided but used once
Three quarters of a cup, grated, described as divided with more for topping.
The method puts all of it into the filling and then calls for extra mozzarella on top. So the divided note is misleading: the three quarters of a cup is not split.
Read it as three quarters of a cup in the filling, plus however much extra you want scattered over before baking. Half a cup on top is a reasonable amount.
Chicken to 165F
Which the source states correctly.
About five minutes per side on a grill pan, flipping once. Breast thickness varies, so check the thickest part rather than trusting the clock.
Then shred with two forks and cool before it meets the cheese and eggs. Warm chicken starts cooking the eggs on contact.
Cook the roux two minutes
Butter and flour whisked until golden brown.
Two minutes is what takes the raw flour taste off. Under-cooked roux tastes pasty in the finished sauce, and there is nowhere for that to hide in something this creamy.
Golden brown rather than dark. This is a white sauce and you want colour without a nutty toasted flavour dominating.
Whisk constantly when the liquid goes in
Two cups of milk and a cup of cream, cooking two to three minutes until thickened.
A roux seizes into lumps if liquid is added carelessly. Constant whisking keeps it smooth as the starch swells.
Add the liquid in stages if you are unsure. It is more forgiving than pouring it all at once.
Sauce on the bottom and the top
A cup underneath, the rest poured over.
The layer underneath stops the shells sticking to the dish and drying out from below. The layer on top keeps the exposed pasta from going hard and leathery in the oven.
Shells poking out of sauce turn to crisp shards in twenty five minutes.
Face down, not up
Which the method specifies for the filled shells.
Placing them cut side down keeps the filling enclosed and stops it drying out on top. It also gives a neater dish, with the smooth curve of the shell facing up under the cheese.
Two cups of parmesan, split
One cup in the filling, the rest in the sauce, plus more for topping.
That is a lot of parmesan and it is doing most of the seasoning. There is no added salt beyond what you season to taste, and parmesan is salty enough to carry the dish.
Ricotta and cottage cheese together
Three quarters of a cup of each. Ricotta is mild and slightly grainy; cottage cheese brings moisture and tang. Together they give a filling that is creamy without being heavy, which two cups of ricotta alone would be.
Making it ahead
Assemble up to a day ahead and refrigerate covered. Add ten minutes to the bake from cold, and keep it covered for the first fifteen so the top does not over-brown.
Chicken Stuffed Shells Casserole
Description
A creamy baked pasta shell casserole with chicken, ricotta, cottage cheese and a garlic basil sauce.
Ingredients:
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375F. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan or iron skillet over medium and drizzle with olive oil. Cook the chicken, flipping once, until it reaches 165F internally, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, shred with two forks and allow to cool.
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Boil the jumbo shells in well salted water about 10 minutes, or two minutes short of the package timing since they soften further in the oven. Drain and spread on a tray rather than leaving them in a colander, where they stick together and tear.
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In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, cottage cheese, mozzarella, 1 cup of the parmesan, eggs, 2 tablespoons of parsley, salt, pepper and the cooled shredded chicken. If the mixture seems too thick, add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream.
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In a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes, which removes the raw flour taste. Pour in the milk and heavy cream, whisking constantly, and cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
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Add the garlic, remaining parmesan, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon of parsley and the basil, stirring until combined. Taste for seasoning.
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Spread 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Fill each shell generously with the chicken mixture and place them face down in the pan.
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Pour the remaining sauce over the shells so none are exposed, then sprinkle with extra mozzarella and parmesan. Bake about 25 minutes until bubbly and golden..
Note
The stated 50 minutes does not cover the work: grilling the chicken, boiling shells, making the sauce, filling twenty shells and a 25 minute bake comes to around 70 minutes. The source lists the shells as cooked and drained but never says how; boil them about 10 minutes or two minutes short of the package timing, since they soften further in the oven, and spread them on a tray rather than leaving them in a colander where they stick and tear. The mozzarella is described as divided but the method uses all three quarters of a cup in the filling, with separate extra for topping; half a cup on top is reasonable. Chicken to 165F, then cooled before it meets the eggs. Cook the roux two minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Sauce goes both under and over the shells, and the shells go face down.