Cheesy Skillet Shells with Calabrian Pesto Roasted Sprouts (Edit recipe)

102 recipes
|
76 followers

For me, cruciferous vegetables just work with cheese. I made the dreamiest, cheesy skillet mac that I finished under the broiler. I topped it off with roasted brussels, dredged in Calabrian pesto for a flavourful, slightly spicy & slightly bitter finish to a rich mac.

Share

save

Original recipe

PREP TIME

20 minutes

COOK TIME

30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

22

Serves: 4

Ingredients

5 cups Pasta Shells, Medium shells. Heaping Cups

Brussels

1 lb Brussels Sprouts, Trimmed & Halved
180 ml Calabrian Chili Pesto
1 whole Himalayan Pink Salt, & Cracked Pepper & Pepper Flakes. See Recipe
1 whole Extra Virgin Olive Oil, See Recipe

Sauce

0.25 cup Butter, Unsalted
2 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced
0.5 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour, heaping Tbsp.
1 cup Milk, 2% Milk. Room Temp
0.666 cup Heavy Whipping Cream, Room Temp
1 cup Aged Cheddar Cheese, White Cheddar, shredded. The older the better!
1 cup Mozzarella, Pizza Mozz, shredded
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
1 tsp Dry Mustard Powder
0.5 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt, More to taste
0.125 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 whole Black Peppercorns, Ground Fresh, See Recipe
1 whole Nutmeg, Ground, See Recipe
1 whole Parsley, Garnish

Shop Ingredients

Shopping on FoodSocial supports our recipe creators and trusted brands. Items arrive in 3-5 days.

Process

Cook Mode

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Bring a large pot of cold, heavily salted water to a boil. Keep covered until needed
S P R O U T S - Preheat your oven to 425. Add the brussel sprouts to a mixing bowl and drizzle with EVOO. Sprinkle with salt, cracked pep, and a generous hit of pep flakes, and stir to combine. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 10 minutes, flip, and continue for another 7 - 10, checking after 7 for doneness depending on size. Once they're just about there, remove and use a basting brush to dress the sprouts generously with the prepared pesto. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes, or until the pesto has brightened and adhered to the sprouts.
As you start the sauce, add your shell pasta to the boiling water and boil to al dente.
S A U C E - In the meantime, begin heating the butter, garlic, and pepper flakes in a large skillet set to just below medium. Once heated, let everything sizzle together for 30 seconds - 1 minute without burning or browning. Reduce the heat slightly and stir in the flour until you have a wet roux. Continue to stir and cook another 2 minutes, once again without browning the roux. If the heat is too high, reduce and continue to stir. Next, pour in the room temp flour and cream, using a whisk to combine the roux with the liquids.
Let the creamy sauce come to a bit of a boil before reducing your heat once again, folding in the cayenne, dry mustard, a dash or two of nutmeg, a few cracks of pepper, and the salt, and letting the sauce simmer and thicken for about 5 minutes as the pasta boils. Reserve about 1/3 of your shredded cheese for the top, but fold all the rest of it in to your creamy sauce until melty and combined. If needed, add some pasta water as your pasta boils if the sauce thickens too much.
Strain the pasta directly in to the skillet and stir until all the pasta is coated in your cheesy sauce. Taste your pasta and season with additional salt / pepper if desired. Remove the skillet from the heat and top the pasta with the reserved shredded cheese and a generous sprinkling of pepper flakes.
Set the oven to BROIL at 500 F / HIGH and place your skillet in to the oven. Let that go 2ish minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned, melted, and bubbly. Remove and set on to a wire cooling rack.
Top the creamy mac with the roasted brussel sprouts. Use your basting brush to blot additional Calabrian pesto all over the skillet mac and finish with a sprinkling of fresh parsley. ENJOY!

Notes

There are usually 3 sizes of shell pasta available. Mini shells, mediums, and jumbo shells for stuffing. You're looking for the medium sized ones for this recipe although you could probably sub the smaller ones if needed.
If you are unable to find Calabrian chili pesto, substitute for any red pesto you can find including a spicy version, or a sundried tomato variety.

Add a Note

About This Recipe

Show nutritional information

This is our estimate based on online research.
Calories:	1602
Fat:	96 g
Carbohydrates:	120 g
Protein:	73 g
Cholesterol:	187 g
Sodium:	1558 mg
Fiber:	8 g
Sugars:	12 g
Sugar Alcohol:	0 g
Calculated per serving.