Seafood & Chicken Baked Ziti with Shrimp-Shell "Lobster" Cream

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A loaded, steakhouse-Italian baked ziti: crisp pancetta renders the base, seared chicken and sweet shrimp go in whole, and the sauce is a fake lobster cream built from the shrimp shells you'd normally throw away, deepened with tomato paste and a splash of brandy. It bakes under mozzarella and Parmesan until the edges catch and the center bubbles.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb shell-on large shrimp (16/20), peeled and deveined, shells reserved
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 small shallot, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup brandy or cognac
• 1 cup bottled clam juice or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 lb ziti or penne rigate
• 4 oz pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil, if needed
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 8 oz low-moisture mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta
• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 lemon, zested

Instructions

1. Peel and devein the shrimp, saving every shell (and tails). Pat the shrimp dry, season lightly with salt, and refrigerate until the very end. Pat the shells dry too — dry shells brown better.
2. Build the shrimp-shell cream: melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shells and shallot and cook, pressing the shells against the pan, 5 to 6 minutes, until they turn deep coral and smell nutty. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute more until it darkens.
3. Pull the pan off the heat, add the brandy, then return to medium heat and simmer hard for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the pan, until the raw alcohol smell is gone. Add the clam juice, cream, bay leaf, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a bare simmer and cook 18 to 20 minutes, never letting it boil, until slightly thickened and pale pink-orange.
4. Strain the cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing firmly on the shells to squeeze out every drop of flavor. Discard the solids. You should have about 1 3/4 cups. Set aside.
5. Heat the oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the ziti 2 minutes short of the package's al dente time — it should still be chalky at the center. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain.
6. Meanwhile, put the pancetta in a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven (12-inch) over medium heat. Cook 7 to 9 minutes, stirring, until the fat has rendered and the pieces are crisp. Scoop the pancetta out with a slotted spoon onto a plate, leaving the fat behind.
7. Raise the heat to medium-high. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the black pepper and add it to the rendered fat in a single layer (add the olive oil only if the pan looks dry). Sear undisturbed 3 minutes, then stir and cook 3 minutes more, until browned and just cooked through. Transfer to the plate with the pancetta.
8. Lower the heat to medium, add the garlic, and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in the white wine and simmer 2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits, until reduced by half. Add the crushed tomatoes and the strained shrimp-shell cream, plus the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer 5 minutes, until the sauce coats a spoon.
9. Stir in the drained pasta, the pancetta, the chicken, 1 cup of the mozzarella, and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Loosen with splashes of pasta water until the pasta is generously saucy — it will drink some in the oven. Fold in the raw shrimp last so they stay barely submerged and don't overcook.
10. Dollop the ricotta over the top in spoonfuls, scatter on the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan, then the panko. If your skillet isn't ovenproof, transfer everything to a buttered 3-quart baking dish first.
11. Bake 18 to 22 minutes, until the sauce bubbles at the edges and the top is browned in patches. If the cheese needs color, broil 1 to 2 minutes, watching closely.
12. Rest 10 minutes — this is when the sauce sets into the pasta. Shower with the parsley and lemon zest and serve straight from the pan.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

One-Pot Chicken Creole

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem