Curiosity sometimes looks like a plane ticket. Sometimes it looks like lunch.

One of my favorite things about traveling is discovering food I wouldn’t necessarily make at home. I love trying something unfamiliar, figuring out what’s in it, and filing the experience away in that part of my brain reserved for things I want to attempt in my own kitchen someday.

Travel isn’t my only source of inspiration. Friends introduce me to dishes. I find ingredients while wandering through markets. And, increasingly, I’ll see something scroll past on social media and immediately think, I need to try that.

Then comes the fun part: bringing the idea home and experimenting.

I think food is one of the easiest ways to keep exploring, even when you aren’t going anywhere. A different ingredient or unfamiliar recipe can introduce you to another culture, another way of cooking, or simply a combination of flavors you’ve never considered. It engages your senses and breaks up the routine of making the same reliable meals week after week.

It also means my boys regularly become unwilling participants in my culinary experiments.

Some experiments earn a polite response. Others disappear quickly enough that I know I’ve found something worth making again.

This creamy mushroom and sun-dried tomato Gigli landed firmly in the second category.

Gigli is a beautifully ruffled pasta whose name translates to “lilies” in Italian, although I mostly love it because all those folds are excellent at grabbing onto sauce. I found mine at Trader Joe’s and paired it with deeply browned baby bella mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, Parmesan, and cream. Pasta water pulls everything together into a silky sauce that settles into every little twist and fold.

It feels indulgent without requiring an elaborate afternoon in the kitchen, which makes it exactly the kind of recipe I want for lunch.

Creamy Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Gigli

Ingredients

¾ package Trader Joe’s Gigli pasta
1 package baby bella mushrooms, sliced, about 8 ounces
2–3 tablespoons olive oil
2–3 cloves garlic, minced
⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
¾ cup heavy cream
½ cup reserved pasta water, plus more as needed
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh parsley or basil, optional
Extra Parmesan for serving

Method

Cook the Gigli in generously salted water until al dente. Before draining it, reserve at least one cup of the pasta water. You probably won’t use all of it, but pasta water is one of those things you will deeply regret pouring down the drain approximately 30 seconds after doing so.

While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and give them enough time and space to brown properly. Once they’re deeply browned, season with salt and pepper.

Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute or two, just until the garlic becomes fragrant.

Lower the heat and pour in the heavy cream. Add about ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water and stir, then add the Parmesan.

Transfer the cooked Gigli into the skillet and toss everything together. Continue adding small splashes of pasta water until the sauce becomes silky and clings to all those wonderful folds in the pasta.

Finish with plenty of freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes if you like a little heat, and another snowfall of Parmesan.

I also clipped some fresh herbs from the little plants growing in my kitchen and scattered those on top, too.

And that was lunch. No plane ticket required. Just a new recipe, a little experimentation, and another dish officially added to our family rotation.

If you make it, let me know how yours turns out.