One of the secrets to hosting a successful dinner party is to have as many dishes prepared in advance as possible so you can enjoy the company of your guests rather than slaving over the cooker. This is one such recipe, get it ready in the morning and leave in the fridge until an hour before serving.
I have added cherry tomatoes for their acidity to cut through the creaminess but if you don’t like tomatoes (and there are a lot of you who don’t), simply finish with a squeeze of lemon or lime.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta shells for 15-20 minutes until fully soft. Add a couple of extra shells if you like so you can make sure that they are cooked properly. Drain and rinse in cold water.
In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, mayonnaise, chives and dill along with some salt and pepper. Reserve 12 prawns for garnish and roughly chop the rest. Add the chopped prawns to the ricotta mixture along with paprika.
Spoon the ricotta filling into each shell. Top with a prawn on each shell, a sprinkle of 3 tomato pieces on each shell. Cover and put in the fridge until ready to eat.
When you’re ready to serve, remove from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Put 3 shells on each plate, add the basil leaves, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and a grind of pepper.
Ingredients
- 12 conchiglioni (large pasta shells)
- 200 g ricotta
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp chives chopped
- 1 tbsp dill chopped
- 100 g cooked peeled prawns
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 10 cherry tomatoes each one cut into 8 pieces
- basil leaves to garnish
- drizzle extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta shells for 15-20 minutes until fully soft. Add a couple of extra shells if you like so you can make sure that they are cooked properly. Drain and rinse in cold water.
- In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, mayonnaise, chives and dill along with some salt and pepper. Reserve 12 prawns for garnish and roughly chop the rest. Add the chopped prawns to the ricotta mixture along with paprika.
- Spoon the ricotta filling into each shell. Top with a prawn on each shell, a sprinkle of 3 tomato pieces on each shell. Cover and put in the fridge until ready to eat.
- When you're ready to serve, remove from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Put 3 shells on each plate, add the basil leaves, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and a grind of pepper.
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