If you make only one pasta this season, make it this one from Alison Roman’s bestselling new cookbook, Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over.

You’ll see.

***

My grandma loves to use the phrase “That’s funny” for things that are decidedly not funny ha-ha but more like charming or cheeky. For example, her famous crudités feature crookneck squash with black peppercorns inserted as eyes to make them look like ducks and geese because she thinks “that’s funny.” Sure. Every time she buys a straw hat, she spray-paints it a very bright metallic silver because, according to her, “that’s funny.” You get the idea. Anyway, I definitely decided to include stuffed shells in this book because I think “that’s funny,” so I guess every day I am one day closer to becoming my grandma.

I am not going to lie and say that this is the kind of dish that can be slapped together moments before people show up to your house. But I will say that it’s a great do-ahead 
(it can be assembled and refrigerated a day ahead), and once baked, it’s the kind of quiet, unassuming main course that will always elicit “ooohs” and “aahhhhs” and “OMG, I haven’t had stuffed shells in forever.” You could, of course, use another tube-ish shape, like cannelloni or something, or even layer this like a lasagna and use rigatoni or ziti.

Ricotta-Stuffed Shells with Burrata, Mushrooms, and Herbs

serves 6 to 10

2 pounds mixed fresh mushrooms, such as maitake, oyster, chanterelle, trumpet, or shiitake, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces

4 garlic cloves, well smashed


3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed for the baking sheet and baking dish


Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


2 cups (16 ounces) full-fat ricotta


1⁄2 cup grated pecorino or parmesan, plus more as desired


11⁄4 cups heavy cream, divided


1 (12-ounce) box large dried shells

8 ounces burrata or mozzarella, torn into bite-sized pieces


1 cup fresh parsley, tender leaves and stems, coarsely chopped


1⁄2 cup finely chopped fresh chives

1⁄4 cup fresh tarragon leaves


1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

EAT WITH

Vinegared Apples with Persimmon and White Cheddar (page 103)
+
Garlicky Broccoli and Greens with Hazelnut and Coriander (page 160)

1 Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2 Toss the mushrooms and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until they’re starting to brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, pecorino, and 3⁄4 cup cream in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

4 Cook the shells in a large pot of salted boiling water until just al dente. Drain and transfer to an oiled rimmed baking sheet. Toss the shells in a bit more oil, just to make sure they don’t stick to one another as you’re filling them.

NOTE Asking your friends to fill the shells will save you a lot of time, plus it will give them something to do other than eat all your snacks.

5 Using a spoon, fill each shell with the ricotta mixture—they should look pretty full, but don’t be crazy, okay? You have a lot of shells to fill!

6 Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish or large cast-iron skillet (a 9 by 13-inch baking dish will work
in a pinch, although it won’t be as dramatic as a presentation). Place the shells in the baking dish, letting them overlap slightly, so each is as snug as a bug in a rug. Or a shell in a dish. Ha. Anyway. Scatter the burrata into the little in-between spots and top with the mushrooms. Pour the remaining 1⁄2 cup cream over everything.

7 Cover with foil and bake until the cheese is melted and everything is warmed through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the shells are sizzling around the edges and the mushrooms have miraculously gotten even darker and more caramelized looking, 15 to 20 minutes.

8 Meanwhile, combine the parsley, chives, tarragon, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.

9 Top the pasta with the herb mixture, grating or shaving more pecorino over, and serve.

DO AHEAD The cheese mixture can be made a day ahead.
The dish can be assembled a day ahead, wrapped tightly, and refrigerated. I wouldn’t recommend baking this too far in advance, though, and reheating it, as the cheese has a tendency to dry out.  

Alison Roman’s Ricotta-Stuffed Shells with Burrata, Mushrooms, and Herbs is excerpted from NOTHING FANCY: UNFUSSY FOOD FOR HAVING PEOPLE OVER © 2019 by Alison Roman. Photography © 2019 by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott. Reproduced by permission of Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved.

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