Delicious Australia – (12)December 2019

AlisonRoman’s

guide toeffortless

(non) entertaining

styleHavingpeopleovermeansnever

havingtosayyou’resorry.Notforyour

mismatchedplatesorthefactthatyou

don’townany‘real’wineglassesorthe

factdinneris actuallybeingservedcloser

to9.30than7.30(justmakesurethereare

snacks).Embracethequirkyimperfections

thatmakedinnerat yourhousespecial.

menuLow-stressandhigh-impact

recipesdesignedtomakeyourlifeeasier

whencookingforothers.Colourfulplatters

ofvegetablesdousedin crispycrunchy

bits,casuallyroastedmeatscatteredwith

herbs,one-bowljust-sweet-enough

desserts.Thisis notaboutlivingan

aspirationallife;it’saboutlivingan

attainableone.Youknow,theonethat

comeswithnotreallyhavingenoughtime

tobraisea wholepotofshortribsbefore

peoplearrive(butyoutryanyway),

accidentallyburntcakes(justcutthose

partsoff),andnotenoughchairstoseat

everyoneat once(sitonthefloor?).It’sthe

lifewelive,it’smessyashell,it’snothing

fancy– andI’msure you wouldn’t want it

anyotherway.

drinksIlovewine.I lovewhitewine,

orangewine,pinkwine,redwine.I love

winethat’schilledandwinethat’snot.

I lovewinewithbubblesandwine

without.Sohowtoknowwhatwineto

pick?Myadviceis tostartbyaskingfor

suggestionsfrompeoplewhoknowmore

thanyouaboutwine.Thiscanbeyour

localwineshop,theserverfromyour

favouriterestaurant,oryourfriendwho

won’tshutupabout‘Pét-Nats’.

DIYbarsSincemakingindividual‘tinis

foreveryonewhowalksthroughthedoor

is notonmyagendaforanyevening,I like

tomakeonegiantbatch,andsince

shakinga giantbatchofmartinisis

absolutelyoutofthequestion,I prefer

themstirred.Whenguestsarrive,offer

thema beverage,includinga martini.

Whentheysay,“I wouldlovea martini!”,

smileandpointthemin thedirectionof

thewell-curated martini bar and say, “All

you, baby!”

ROASTINGA NICEchickenforpeople

is sucha goodwaytosay,I loveyou.

I recentlyfoundthisnotetomyself

scrawledonthebackofanelectricalbill

I hadprobablyforgottentopay,written

onenightaftera dinnerparty.Therewas

likelya lotofwinethatnight(thebest

ideasalwayscomefroma lotofwine),

andwell-intentioned(butfragmented)

deepchickenthought.

Irealisedafterreadingthenotethatit

wasthefirsttimeI articulatedexactlywhat

I wantedthisbooktobeabout,andwhatI

wantyoutogetoutofit – becauseusing

yourtimeandresourcestofeedpeople

youcareaboutis theultimateexpression

oflove.Andloveis aboutexpressingjoy,

sotheotherthingI wantyou to get out of

thisis,Youcandothis.

Ihavealwaysbeenallergictotheword

‘entertaining’,whichtomeimpliesthere’s

a show,somethingperformativeat best

andinauthenticat worst.Buthaving

peopleover?Well,that’sjustmaking

dinner,butyouknow,withmorepeople.

Unfussyfood,unfussyvibesandthe

permissiontobeimperfect,nooccasion

necessary (other than to eat, of course).

Thisis aneditedextractfrom

NothingFancybyAlisonRoman

(HardieGrantBooks,$45).

Photographer:© Michael Graydon

and Nikole Herriott. delicious.com.au/recipes

FormoreofAlisonRoman’sfuss-

@alisoneroman @alisoneroman free recipes to wow the crowd.

RICOTTA-STUFFEDSHELLS

WITHBURRATA, MUSHROOMS

ANDHERBS

SERVES 6 -10

1kgmixedmushrooms,suchasoyster,

chanterelle,trumpetorshiitake, torn

orcutintobite-sizedpieces

4 garliccloves,crushed

(^1) / 4 cup(60ml)oliveoil,plusextra to drizzle
2 cups(500g)full-fatricotta
(^1) / 2 cup(50g)gratedpecorinoor
parmesan,plusmoreasdesired
11 / 4 cups(310ml)thickenedcream
350glargedriedpastashells
225gburrataormozzarella, torn into
bite-sizedpieces
1 largehandfulcoarselychopped flat-leaf
parsley,leavesandstems
1 bunchchoppedchives
(^1) / 4 cuptarragonleaves
1 tbs grated lemon zest
Preheattheovento215°C.Tossthe
mushroomsandgarlicona largebaking
traywiththeoliveoilandseasonwithsalt
andpepper.Roast,tossingoccasionally,
untilthemushroomsarestarting to brown
andcrisp,15-20minutes.
Meanwhile,combinericotta,pecorino
and 185 ml(^3 / 4 cup)creamin a medium
bowl.Seasonwithsaltandpepper.
Cookthepastashellsin a largepotof
saltedboilingwateruntiljustaldente.
Drainandtransfertoanoiledbakingtray.
Tosstheshellsina bitmoreoil,justto
makesuretheydon’tstick to one another
asyou’refillingthem.
Usinga spoon,filleachshellwiththe
ricottamixture– theyshouldlookpretty
full,butdon’tbecrazy, okay? You have a lot
ofshellstofill!
Drizzlea bitofoliveoilin thebottomof
a 2L(8 cup)bakingdishorlargecast-iron
pan;a 23× 32cmbakingdishwillworkat
a pinch,althoughit won’tbeasdramatic
in presentation.Placeshellsin thebaking
dish,lettingthemoverlapslightly,soeach
is assnugasa bugin a rug.Ora shellin a
dish.Ha.Anyway.Scattertheburratainto
thelittlein-betweenspotsandtopwith
mushrooms.Pourtheremaining125 ml
(^1 / 2 cup) cream over everything.
EXTR ACT.