Bring pasta cooking water to a boil and stir in the salt. Make it as salty as the sea. Parboil the shells for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then remove the shells from the water and allow them to air dry and cool down.

Meanwhile, make your béchamel. Melt the butter in a skillet and stir in the flour. Cook over medium heat while stirring for about 3 minutes, to remove the raw taste of the flour. Then add the milk gradually while stirring to thicken the sauce. Season with the Maldon, white pepper, and nutmeg. Let the sauce cook on medium low heat for about 6-7 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the Parm off the heat and set aside. It will thicken as it cools and that’s what you want.

Preheat your oven to 350° F convection.

Put a touch of tomato paste, about a pea sized dot, inside each shell. You can use your finger to spread it out. Then stuff each shell with Italian sweet sausage. It should be slightly mounded so the sausage extends just outside of the shell. Place the shells, sausage side down, in a skillet with the avocado oil. You really won’t need more because some fat will be rendered out of the sausage. Fry the shells on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes to create a nice golden crust on the meat. Remove from the heat.

Spread about 2 large spoonfuls of the béchamel across the surface of your baking dish. Then arrange the stuffed shell boats, sausage side up, on top of this bed of sauce. The sauce will be quite thick so the shells will stay in place. Thin the remaining bechamel with the milk and give it a brisk whisk and then pour it uniformly all over the shells. Now cover with a thin layer of the Parm.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Then remove the baking dish from the oven and push the cubes of mozzarella down between the shells. Bake for another 10 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbly and some of the shells have some beautiful crispy edges. Finish with finely chopped parsley.