Saturday, January 14, 2012

Would pesto-stuffed shells be good served indivually as finger foods?

Does anyone have a recipe or experience serving this?

Would pesto-stuffed shells be good served indivually as finger foods?
I wouldn't think so because the stuffed shells would have to be very al dente, almost too hard to enjoy for it to be easily held neatly. Not to mention that the pesto would need alot of ricotta cheese ( I think. I don't know the recipe ) to hold it together.
Reply:Sure, sounds delicious. But scewer them with toothpicks so your guests don't have to touch the cooked pasta.
Reply:Having small shells and piping pesto or another filling into them for finger food is a good idea. However, a couple things to consider. The shells, being pasta, will either be somewhat tachy to the touch (for your guests eating them), or will begin to dry out and harden.

So, your favoriate pesto recipe (simple is better in my books: basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, salt/pepper) into small shells woulc be a very interesting serving idea. Make sure, because pesto can be a strong flavor, not to over-do it. Perhaps piping some cream cheese in under the pesto would help balance it a bit.
Reply:I don't see how you can present pasta as finger food. Instead, slice some good French bread on a bias, toast, and then spread pesto on the slices.
Reply:No, it's just not a good idea. The pasta would be slippery and soft and messy. A skewer couldn't hold it because even al dente, the pasta would be too soft and it would tear off the skewer. Besides a traditional pesto would be too salty to stuff shells with. Pesto is a sauce that is used sparingly on pasta because the parmesano reggiano in it is strong and salty, as a stuffing it would be overpowering.
Reply:Assuming that you are thinking about the approximately one-inch sized "shells" that one can buy in the pasta aisle of a supermarket, the idea is well-intentioned but not fully thought out. Here's why:

First and foremost, your shells would need to be cooked al dente in order for them to have some sort of structural integrity. Even then, you would have to serve them hot because "al dente" pasta will quickly take on a rubbery texture when allowed to cool and set in the absence of a sauce. Second, you need to consider what ingredients make up a pesto sauce. Basil, garlic, pine nuts, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and OLIVE OIL. When you make a pesto sauce for pasta, it doesn't take long for the ingredients to settle due to weight. You will always have the oil rise to the top. Therefore, if you were actually going to pipe pesto into small shells for finger food, guaranteed you would end up with an oily mess leaking out of both sides of a rubbery, slippery "vessel." This results in your guests despairing over the inevitable oil-spots on their clothing, due to those darn shells!
Reply:No! to messy and oily, to big. Try a cold pasta salad with pesto served in small disposable paper bowls maybe, but you still we have to have utensils. Can't think of anyway to serve a pesto dish as finger food! sorry. Wish you luck though.


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