She sells seashells on the seashore, The shells she sells are seashells, I'm sure, For if she sells seashells on the seashore, Then I'm sure she sells seashore shells.
— The Fossil Hunter, Shelley Emling
As a writer and bibliophile, I adore wordplay and puns, so this week’s theme — Alliteration — was right up my alley.
This week’s meal, seafood stuffed shells, doesn’t come directly from a book, but rather is inspired by the tongue-twister, “She sells seashells.”
The rhyme is supposedly about Mary Anning, one of Britain’s most prolific early fossil collectors, and the subject of The Fossil Hunter, by Shelley Emling.
The book
The Fossil Hunter is a very interesting and well-researched book. I was particularly struck by Anning’s perseverance and fascination with fossils. She was poor, a young girl with little formal education, yet she unearthed fossils — some massive, others tiny — that led to the discovery of dinosaurs. Her success wasn’t mere luck; she combed the beach every day and through practice, learned what to look for. Her finds challenged the commonly held views of the time, that God created the earth in six days and that once upon a time, a worldwide biblical flood wiped out creation. Unfortunately, Mary had to sell her finds to feed herself and her family, while other more educated men took credit for her work. More than a century later, Anning finally gets her due.
The food
Inspired by the tongue twister, I searched for seafood stuffed shells recipes. There are several out there, but I chose this one from Mr. Make It Happen. He doesn’t smother the pasta in cheese, which allows the flavor of the shrimp, crab and vegetables to come through.
It’s also a pretty easy recipe. There’s some prep in the beginning, but once you have your all your ingredients chopped, the dish comes together quickly.
Jumbo lump crab is a little too rich for my budget, so I used a combo of shrimp and imitation crab meat, along with peppers, onions, spinach, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes for the seafood filling. Mix with some mozzarella and parmesan, then stuff the shells.
The sauce is a combo of shallots, garlic — roasted and fresh — tomato paste, seafood stock or wine, heavy cream and parmesan. It tastes divine and the recipe makes just enough to coat the shells, without drenching them.
Layer the shells and sauce in a baking dish with a little more cheese, then bake for 15 minutes.
The verdict? I loved the flavors of this dish, and the seafood makes it filling without being heavy. My fiance thought it was a little awkward to eat — the filling kept falling out of the shells — but I think all the elements would work well mixed with smaller shells or rigatoni. Definitely a keeper.
Next week: Nigerian