There are two things we can always count on Stanley Tucci for: a great acting and a delicious pasta recipe. Usually, we’re scouring Tucci’s social media for her next great pasta recipe. While we often check Tucci’s social media for his next culinary creation, his new book, “What I ate in a year (and related ideas)” has rapidly expanded our repertoire of Tucci-inspired recipes.
Of course, these “recipes” are as free-form as you might expect from the performer—a handful of ingredients, no measurements, and no cooking time in sight. But that’s all part of the Tucci charm, isn’t it?
I’ve already tried a few dishes from Tucci’s memory, including Her family’s favorite minestrone soup and zucchini parmigiana. But as a fellow pasta lover, when I read that Tucci ate three servings of this pasta dish in one sitting, I knew it would be a must.
Pasta recipe by Stanley Tucci 3 helpings.
In his book, Tucci describes a night when his wife, Felicity (Emily Blunt sister) was out, and the children had gone to bed. She made herself a simple sausage and scallions pasta dish. The one-pot sauce included minced garlic, onion, fennel, fennel seeds, ground Italian sausage, and house-made marinara sauce.
“I roasted it all in a pan and threw it in. [conchiglie pasta (large shells)] And some cheese,” he writes. “I had three helpings at nine. Not wise, but delicious.”
Stanley Tucci’s Sausage and Shells Recipe
Let’s face it: every time I’m making one. A recipe approved by Stanley Tucci, I’m fanning it. I’m pretty sure Tucci is sweeping it in the kitchen, too—which explains the lack of accurate measurements.
This “recipe” is actually pretty easy to follow without a written guide because you can basically use one of everything: a box of shell pasta, a pound of Italian sausage, an onion, a Fennel bulband even a jar Store-bought marinara sauce If you don’t want to build it from scratch. For the garlic, fennel seeds and cheese, I just measured by heart, which meant lots of garlic and cheese and a light sprinkling of fennel seeds.
Reminds me of Tucci’s dish. My favorite Emeril Lagasse pastawhich has the same meat sauce, but with an extra kick from Calabrian chili paste.
Since Tucci underwent radiation therapy to fight his throat cancer, he avoided certain foods, such as spicy dishes, chewy meats, or more tannic ingredients, because of the lack of saliva. So he keeps his recipes mild, like the Italian sausage in this dish. However, you can easily customize it at home by choosing or adding hot Italian sausage. Lagasse’s secret ingredient: Calabrian chiles.
Although I couldn’t manage three helpings of this hearty pasta dish, I was very happy to have leftovers for lunches and dinners throughout the week. This recipe has officially joined my Tucci rotation. Bechamel Pasta Casserole And Pasta fagioli.