Sunday, March 9, 2008

Crab Stuffed Shells

64 oz whole tomatoes (in juice), hand crushed
1/2 lb fresh lump crab meat
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, minced
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons grated Asiago (divided)
1/4 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella (divided)
1 egg
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt
white pepper
jumbo pasta shells, cooked and cooled

In a large pan, heat the olive oil then add onions, carrots and garlic and saute just until the garlic is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, cook 2-4 minutes or until it reduces slightly. Add the tomatoes, simmer for until sauce thickens, about 20-25 minutes. Stir in cream. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/2 cup asiago, nutmeg, crab, salt, pepper and egg. Mix thoroughly. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Fill shells with 1 tablespoon of the cheese/crab mixture. Place filled shells in a single layer on the sauce. Shells can be placed very close together. Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover in foil and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 1/2 hour, then remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and the dish looks bubbly and hot.

3 comments:

Sandra said...

What do you use in place of the red wine in this recipe? Apple juice, chicken stock, water or maybe white grapejuice?

tawnya said...

Um, I haven't made this yet - it's on my "to try list"!

If I didn't just use cooking wine, I'd probably use chicken stock.

Dawna said...

Either diluted cider vinegar or a red wine vinegar would be a better substitue than chicken stock and would still give you the color you want to.