In the UK it's called TK Maxx, in the States it's called TJ Maxx and in Canada, it's called Winners. What am I talking about? That famous discount fashion retailer of course. I remember how excited we were in Warrington, when we discovered we were getting a TK Maxx, suddenly we were going to have good clothes. The truth is that in Vancouver, you can spend two hours perusing the merchandise without anyone asking: "Can I help you?" unlike a shop such as Guess, say, where in the space of 2 minutes while looking at belts, 5 assistants came to me with their intrusive mantra.
Lush in Vancouver is particularly bad, you only have to walk through the door to have an army of false smiles and overly - zealous assistants badgering you to the point where you actually turn around and leave. "Hi, have you been here before, have you tried this, umm, where are you going?" Please, shop assistants, listen: LEAVE US ALONE! If we want help, we'll ask, but don't you realise? Your claustrophobic attitude prevents us from ever wanting to darken your doorsteps again. Winners has therefore won in that category and shopping there is an enjoyable experience, allowing a person to take their time and discover other things, such as the food items, which are like the high fashion equivalent of the culinary world.
Multi coloured royal quinoa, estate bottled extra virgin olive oil, aged balsamic vinegars and fancy multi coloured, giant pasta shells. My cupboards and shelves are full of such stuff, gathering dust and leading the forgotten life of the gourmet brand.
This time, however, some such giant pasta shells inspired a recipe, which I was determined to create within a week or so of the purchase and, contrary to all other good intentions I usually aspire to and fail, this time I actually did it. Conveniently, a small supermarket is located right beneath the Winners store, allowing me to buy the crab I required. So, no excuses unless I wanted the guilt of $12 of crab going to waste.
Recipe : Crab and shrimp stuffed shells
2 cups of large pasta shells
1 cup of crab meat
8 large, raw prawns, shelled
1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp butter
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 tbsp cream cheese
a few saffron strands
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup of chicken or fish stock
salt and pepper
paprika
2 tbsp panko or breadcrumbs
3/4 cup grated mixed cheese (I used 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1/4 cup of Cheddar)
Preheat the oven to 400oF.
Cook the pasta in a pan of salted, boiling water until just done, (al dente - a little bite still). Drain and leave to dry thoroughly. You may find you have to turn the shells upside down to empty all the water out or poke inside with a paper towel. Place into a baking dish, trying to stand the shells upright with the opening at the top.
Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the shallot, garlic and carrot. Saute, stirring continuously, until the vegetables are softened.
Add the stock, cream cheese, saffron, butter, prawns and crab and stir well. Keeping the heat at medium, allow everything to simmer together until the prawns and crab are cooked and the liquid has evaporated and thickened slightly to create a sauce like consistency. Remove from the heat.
Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste and then spoon a little into each pasta shell, adding more to each until all the mixture has been used. Sprinkle the panko or breadcrumbs on top, followed by the cheese, ensuring it is evenly distributed over all the shells and then sprinkle a little paprika over the top.
Bake in a preheated 400oF oven for about 15 minutes, browning and crisping under a grill (broiler) for the final 5 minutes if you like.
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