Ingredients For Italian Stuffed Shells

Series Summary

Italian food is a favorite for many people. The flavors, textures, and varieties brought together in Italian cuisine are unlike anything else. Whether it’s because of pasta, pizza, or wine, the world has fallen in love with the dishes offered by the ancient, boot-shaped Mediterranean land known as Italy. Perhaps it’s a simple approach to cooking that has endeared Italian food to millions, as most recipes consist of three main ingredients: tomato sauce, pasta, and cheese.

Rarely will you hear someone express a low opinion of Italian food at the dinner table, spoiling your entrance as you’re carrying in your best homemade spaghetti dish. So, when planning for a dinner party or catering an event, Italian food is usually a sure thing—especially since it’s easy to cook for large numbers of people.

In this free Italian food cooking video series, learn how to make a stuffed pasta shells recipe. This traditional dish is a great way to get some attention at any meal. Stuffed shells take a simple noodle and transform it into a pocket of flavor, full of meat, vegetables and spices. Learn the ingredients for this recipe, how to cook the shells, how to make the filling, tips for adding toppings and baking—and finally, how to serve stuffed shells. Enjoy.

Video Transcript

"MATT SENATORE: Hi. This is Matt Senatore on behalf of Expert Village. And today, we're going to learn how to make my Italian stuffed shell appetizer. I love to throw parties. I love having a lot of people over, everybody having a great time, and I especially love cooking for parties because that's when I get to experiment. See, when I have a party or throw party, I don't like to make big gigantic meals where everybody sits down so formal. I like making 10 or 15 different little appetizers that I spread about everywhere so as people are walking around and talking to each other, they just pick off the appetizer plates and they try them. Now what I'm about to show you will not only be easy to make, it will taste great and your presentation is going to be awesome. So as you walk in through the party with a tray with the appetizers on, and people are looking at them, they'll going to say, "This person took the time and cared enough to not only cook an awesome appetizer but to make it look good," which is very important. Always remember that presentation is extremely important. So now I'm going to show you how to make an incredible appetizer that I guarantee your guests will remember long after the party is over. This appetizer, actually it's one appetizer with two different fillings so your guest have a choice. So get out your shopping list and let's see what we need to make "Matt's Italian stuffed shells." The cool thing is you don't need a lot to make this. We're going to need some Italian sausage without the casing, some ground beef, some shells, an onion but we're going to use half, some Ricotta cheese, some marinara sauce, and some shredded Parmesan cheese."