Carmelita's Cookitaly

Conchiglioni al Forno

Conchiglioni is pronounced "con - kill -YAWN - eee" and Al Forno means baked 

You can fill pasta shells with practically anything, so having a free hand I decided on something light: a "trito" or chopped mixture, of fish and vegetables.

You can see my base ingredients, enough for 4 for a light lunch or for 2 greedy people, in the second picture in the gallery. I used:

- a medium sized Adriatic hake, a lovely firm white fish that is cheap in Italy because it is not particularly appreciated, whereas in Spain it is a much sought after delicacy
 - a leek, green part only, sliced
 - a carrot, diced
 - a "leaf" of fresh bulb fennel, also diced
 - some fresh thyme

I softened the vegetables in good olive oil and put some pasta water on to boil. I rinsed the fish and cut it into chunks and when the pasta water came to the boil I lowered the heat and popped the fish pieces in to poach gently. After 4 minutes or so I scooped them back out and left them to cool a little before removing skin and bones using my hands - the best way to detect any small bones that you really don't want to find when you eat the filled Conchiglioni.

I had been keeping an eye on the vegetables and adding a little of the pasta water from time to time so they softened without frying. Now I added the flaked fish, seasoned them well with salt and pepper, and cooked everything together for a few minutes for the flavours to blend. Then I turned off the heat so the mixture cooled down a little..

I then salted the water and tipped in about 250g of shells (8 oz) - rather more than I needed but a few might tear while cooking - and remembered to turn on the oven to preheat at 180 °C ( 350° F). The packet said to cook the pasta for 15 minutes so I timed them for 10, then scooped them up with a one handled sieve, shook off the water and left them to cool a little. I proceeded to fill them, still using my fingers - food can and should be touched with clean bare hands, as far as I am concerned - and placed them one by one in the oiled dish in which they would complete their cooking.

I added a little pasta water to the bottom of the dish to help finish the cooking, covered with foil and baked them all for about 15 minutes.

I did add a little water  - my filling was not at all wet so they needed some extra  - and left them in until the top was well coloured and had developed some of those special crunchy bits. If you'd prefer a wetter filling you can add a little cream or bechamel, just mix it into the fish and vegetable mixture.

Once out of the oven I scattered over a few thyme leaves and grated over a little Parmigiano-Reggiano. Yes I know there is a great ban on using cheese on fish Primi but many traditional baked and stuffed fish recipes pair cheese and fish - I'll post at least one here in future - so I went ahead, it was just a little.

I have to tell you it was an exceptionally good dish, tasty, healthy and supremely satisfying. You can serve a large portion as a one dish meal, a small portion as a Primo, or just a few prettily plated as Antipasto. The Conchiglioni are also good cold, and can be served individually in small paper cups as delicious nibbles to accompany drinks.

Buom Appetito, go buy a fish!

Conchiglioni

The name means large shells and the shape is somewhat like a cowrie shell, slightly elongated. This is one of the best pastas for stuffing, filling and baking. Other good large format pasta shapes that work well are Lumaconi, which are shaped like snail shells, and Paccheri, which are like very large Rigatoni - more on those last two later.

Growing up in Malta, we often had ricotta, Reggiano and parsley filled Lumaconi which were layered with tomato sauce in a deep casserole and baked. When in a hurry, my pharmacist mother would simply place some tomato sauce at the bottom of the casserole, then a layer of part cooked pasta, then the ricotta mix, more  tomato sauce, another layer each of pasta, ricotta, tomato sauce and grated Reggiano on top. So delicious either way, I miss that kind of Southern Sunday lunch baked pasta, it is not easy to find here in northern Bologna unless you make it yourself.

One thing about baked pasta shells or tubes is that they must not be fully cooked when you fill them, or they tear and break. In any case they are going to cook further in the oven and of course overcooked pasta is an unforgivable crime! So Italian cooks will err on the side of undercooked not overcooked pasta. As the saying goes "Better a hard heart than a soft heart when it comes to pasta." 

So you cook the pasta to just about two thirds of the cooking time, have your sauce a little more watery than usual, and cover the pasta with foil initially so that it can finish cooking in the steam. I must say that despite long experience growing up, I still check from time to see how it's coming along. I'll top up with hot water if it seems on the dry side, though dry and crisp is better than flabby and gummy. You then take the foil off for the last 5 or 10 minutes to allow the top to go nice and golden, and to get some tasty little crunchy bits.

A recipe will be coming up next now that I've shared the tips and tricks:stand by for Conchiglioni al Forno, Baked Pasta Shells.