One of those dinners that tastes far more extravagant than the effort involved. Little pasta shells capture a velvety mushroom sauce enriched with real truffle paste and plenty of Parmesan. Simple, earthy and dangerously easy to finish. Shell pasta with mushrooms, cream, Parmesan, garlic and real truffle paste for a rich, earthy and luxurious pasta dish.
Truffles are one of those ingredients I absolutely love, but let’s face it, buying fresh truffles for an everyday pasta dinner isn’t exactly practical. They can be difficult to find, particularly here in New Zealand depending on the season, and even when you do find them, the price can quickly turn a simple bowl of pasta into something rather extravagant.
Luckily, fresh truffles aren’t the only way to bring that distinctive earthy flavour into a dish.
For this Truffle Cream Shell Pasta, I used truffle paste instead of fresh truffles. It is considerably easier to keep in the pantry or refrigerator, much easier on the wallet and, when you buy a good one made with actual truffles, still gives a creamy pasta sauce plenty of that deep truffle character.
This is also exactly the sort of pasta where truffle paste works beautifully. There aren’t too many competing ingredients. You have mushrooms, garlic, cream and Parmesan forming the base, while the truffle paste provides the main aromatic punch.
Then there is the pasta itself.
Rather than using the more obvious spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine, I used shell pasta. Those little shells trap the creamy mushroom and truffle sauce inside their curves, so you get a proper mouthful of sauce with almost every bite.
Truffles and Their Long Culinary History
Truffles certainly aren’t another modern luxury ingredient invented by fine-dining restaurants. Humans have enjoyed them for thousands of years.
Ancient Greeks and Romans knew of these unusual underground fungi, and their mysterious growth inspired all sorts of theories. Unlike conventional mushrooms that announce themselves above ground, truffles develop beneath the soil in association with the roots of particular trees.
That characteristic also makes them considerably more difficult to find. Over the centuries, truffles became particularly important to European gastronomy, especially in Italy and France. Italy remains famous for several prized varieties, with Piedmont and the area around Alba particularly associated with white truffles. Central Italian regions such as Umbria also have strong traditions surrounding black truffles.
Because you can’t simply walk through a forest and easily spot them, truffle hunters rely on specially trained dogs to detect their powerful aroma underground. Pigs were historically used for the same purpose.
Combine that difficult harvesting with seasonality, limited availability and a short shelf life and suddenly the extraordinary price of fresh truffles begins making more sense. Thankfully, I don’t need to shave an expensive fresh truffle over dinner every time I want that flavour.
Why I Prefer Truffle Paste
This is where truffle paste becomes extremely useful in my kitchen.  The important thing is choosing a decent one. Truffle pastes vary enormously between brands. Many combine actual minced truffles with mushrooms, oil and seasonings, so always check what you are buying. Some have quite a subtle flavour while others can be remarkably intense.  I find a good truffle paste particularly useful because it becomes part of the dish rather than simply acting as a finishing aroma.
And this is also why I don’t recommend relying on truffle oil.  A lot of inexpensive truffle oils get their powerful aroma primarily from synthetic flavour compounds rather than actual truffles. That aroma can become incredibly concentrated and one-dimensional, easily overpowering the more delicate flavours in a dish.
A decent paste made with actual minced truffles gives me something much closer to what I am looking for. It is also considerably more practical. I can keep a jar around and use a couple of spoonfuls whenever I feel like making something truffly. No special occasion required and certainly no need to source a fresh truffle just because I want pasta for dinner.
Mushrooms Make the Truffle Go Further
Mushrooms are a natural partner for truffle.  Both bring earthy characteristics to a dish, and ordinary mushrooms reinforce that flavour without competing too aggressively with the truffle paste. They also provide texture and make this simple pasta feel much more substantial.
For this recipe, I prefer chopping the mushrooms fairly small rather than leaving them as large slices. They almost disappear into the sauce, leaving little pieces throughout the pasta and, importantly, inside those shells. But don’t immediately drown them in cream.
Mushrooms contain a surprising amount of water. Give them enough time in butter and olive oil first so they can release that moisture. Once the liquid evaporates, they begin browning and developing much more concentrated flavour.
Only then do I add the garlic. Already at this stage the kitchen smells pretty good. Once the truffle paste eventually joins the party, it becomes even better.
Cream, Parmesan and Truffle
Truffle has such a distinctive aroma that I don’t think this sauce needs an enormous list of ingredients. Cream provides richness and carries the truffle flavour beautifully. Parmesan brings saltiness, nuttiness and umami while also helping the sauce develop some body. Garlic adds another savoury dimension, but I keep it under control. Too much garlic can easily overwhelm something as aromatic yet surprisingly delicate as truffle.
I also reserve some pasta cooking water. That cloudy water might look like something destined for the sink, but the starch suspended in it makes it one of the most useful ingredients in pasta cooking.
Adding a splash allows you to loosen the cream while helping everything emulsify into a sauce that clings beautifully to the pasta.
With shell pasta, this becomes especially important. I want the sauce loose enough to flow inside those little cavities rather than becoming so thick that it just sits around them.
Why Shell Pasta Works So Well
You could certainly use fettuccine, tagliatelle or another pasta shape here, but I really like shells for this particular sauce.  Shell pasta, or conchiglie, takes its name from its resemblance to seashells. The curved shape gives sauce somewhere to collect, which makes it particularly good with creamy preparations.
In this recipe, the shells catch the truffle cream together with tiny pieces of mushroom. That changes the eating experience compared with long pasta. Instead of twirling noodles around a fork, you get compact little mouthfuls filled with sauce.
And I certainly don’t hold back with the Parmesan at the end. Freshly grated Parmesan hitting that hot pasta begins melting almost immediately, giving you another salty and nutty layer against the earthiness of the mushrooms and truffle.
A generous grinding of black pepper is about all it needs after that.
Truffle Pasta Doesn’t Need to Be Complicated
Truffles have such a luxurious reputation that it is easy to assume anything containing them needs to involve complicated techniques and an enormous restaurant-style ingredient list.
This recipe is almost the opposite. Cook the pasta. Brown the mushrooms. Add garlic, cream, truffle paste and Parmesan. Toss everything together and dinner is ready. The important thing is restraint.
Too much garlic can bury the truffle. Too much Parmesan can make everything excessively salty. Too much truffle paste, especially a particularly potent one, can make the whole dish almost perfume-like.
Taste as you go. You want everything working together, with the truffle immediately recognisable but not so aggressive that you can no longer taste the mushrooms, Parmesan or even the pasta itself.
An Easier Way to Get My Truffle Fix
Would freshly shaved truffle make this more luxurious? Of course it would. But that isn’t really the point of this Truffle Cream Shell Pasta.
I wanted something I could realistically prepare whenever I crave that distinctive earthy truffle flavour without tracking down fresh truffles or spending a small fortune on dinner.
A jar of good truffle paste gives me exactly that option.  Combined with properly browned mushrooms, cream and Parmesan, it produces a sauce that tastes far more extravagant than the amount of effort involved suggests. Then those pasta shells make sure very little of it goes to waste.
Every curve captures the creamy sauce, little pieces of mushroom hide inside the shells and freshly grated Parmesan melts across everything as it reaches the table.
Simple ingredients, straightforward preparation and a practical shortcut in the form of real truffle paste.
Sometimes that is all you need to make an ordinary pasta night feel considerably more special.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the shell pasta and cook according to packet directions until al dente.
Before draining the pasta, reserve around 1 cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add the mushrooms and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Allow them to release their liquid, then continue cooking until that moisture evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown.
Pour in the cream and bring it to a gentle simmer. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes to reduce it slightly.
Reduce the heat to low, then stir in the truffle paste. Start with 2 tablespoons, taste the sauce and add more if your particular paste requires it.
Add the Parmesan and stir gently until completely melted into the cream.
Add the cooked shell pasta and toss until every piece becomes coated with the sauce.
Add the reserved pasta cooking water a little at a time until the sauce reaches a silky consistency and flows easily into the pasta shells.
Season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Taste before adding salt, as the Parmesan and truffle paste may already provide plenty of seasoning.
Divide among bowls and generously grate additional Parmesan over the top. Serve immediately while the sauce is creamy and the pasta shells remain beautifully al dente.
Truffle paste is a game changer! I love it (but Mark doesn’t). This is something I would make for guests when Mark is traveling! Yes, truffle oil, unless you know the source personally, is dicey at best. Beautiful recipe, Raymund!
Real truffle paste instead of truffle oil is the detail that won me over, since most recipes fake that earthy depth. One question though: does the cream split if you add the Parmesan off the heat too early?
I had no idea that truffle paste exists! I am aware enough to stay away from truffle oil. Off to buy some! Beautiful pasta.
Check as well the ingredients to be sure, some of them are just mushrooms with truffle essence
Truffle paste is a game changer! I love it (but Mark doesn’t). This is something I would make for guests when Mark is traveling! Yes, truffle oil, unless you know the source personally, is dicey at best. Beautiful recipe, Raymund!
Real truffle paste instead of truffle oil is the detail that won me over, since most recipes fake that earthy depth. One question though: does the cream split if you add the Parmesan off the heat too early?
This looks incredibly rich and indulgent, Raymund! That creamy truffle sauce sounds absolutely irresistible.