Spicy Unstuffed Pasta Shells With Roasted Garlic and Chèvre

Stuffed shells are great, whether they’re baked in a pan or cooked in a skillet. But unstuffed shells are the ultimate weeknight easy pasta dinner. No fussing, no filling shells one by one, no torn pasta bits. 

To make this hearty pasta sauce oh-so-good with oh-so-little effort, you need just a handful of ingredients. Here’s an important truth: The olive bar has to be the most underrated section of the grocery store. To make the most of that little treasure trove, we like to think of the stuff we find there not only as snacks, but also as hugely flavorful, time-saving ingredients! Peppadews and marinated feta are great, but we never walk past without stocking up on roasted garlic. The soft, sweet, subtly nutty cloves that would take hours to make at home are almost always available, already cooked perfectly, and ready to lend some delicate, nutty, molten garlic love to any dish they grace. 

Another trick that makes this dish work so well? Adding a bit of salty, starchy pasta cooking liquid to the pan helps in creating a creamy sauce that really clings to the shells.