Ravioli in Cheese and Sage Sauce - Giovanni Rana Product Review - Real Italian Kitchen

Ravioli in Cheese and Sage Sauce

Giovanni Rana Ravioli in Cheese and Sage Sauce - Real Italian Kitchen

When I was in Italy I could go to a place called "Pasta Fresca" (pronounced /pasta freska/) which means fresh pasta, and buy hand made ravioli, tortellini, tagliatelle, gnocchi…. I haven't found a place like this in Philadelphia, so if you follow my blog, you know I started making my own ravioli. Making Ravioli from scratch is a fucking process, it's an all day event that breaks your back and tires your hands, you'll be picking up flour and pasta bits off the floor for days, and I reserve that kind of effort for special events and small gatherings (cause let's face it, I love cooking, but that turns a joy into a job). 

So I decided to give this fellow a try. Giovanni Rana is a chef and an entrepreneur, his company has done nothing but grow for the past 50 years. He's still in charge of it, along with his son, so we could say it's a family company. As I was researching his name I found out he has a Pastificio and Restaurant in Chelsea, NYC, so if you are in the area I would definitely recommend you try it… and then let me know how it is! haahahha! 

I bought his Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli, and this is one of the most popular ways of serving them. It makes a fabulous lunch, perfect for a cold day, because is filled with cheese, butter and fat! 

Ingredients: 

-For two people that are only going to eat that plate of pasta use the whole bag.


FOR THE SAUCE:
-Butter
-Heavy Cream
-Sage
-A few spoonful of your favorite cream cheese, I used a wedge of "Laughing Cow"
-Nut meg
-Salt and pepper
-Grated Parmigiano cheese, use pecorino for a stronger flavor

STEP BY STEP

1. Bring some water to a boil in a large pot, add salt and cook the Ravioli until the pasta on the rim is soft. I personally don't like "al dente" for ravioli and cook them a couple of minutes over the instructed time on the box.

As you can see from the picture, they float! So it's important to stir them to cook them all evenly.

2. Mean while prepare the sauce: in a non stick pan  add the cream cheese, the butter, the heavy cream and the sage and cook them on medium heat until dissolved in a nice creamy cloud! 

3. Adjust with salt and nutmeg. Remember to use less salt if you're going to use the pecorino cheese, cause that's plenty salty all on his own! 

4. Drain the Ravioli and throw them in the pan with the sauce. Let the residual water boil off for 2 minutes, the sauce will stick to the ravioli beautifully. Done! 

5. Serve with freshly ground black pepper on top and a handful of parmigiano. For a more delicate taste leave those two out. 

What I thought of Giovanni Rana Ricotta and Spinaci Ravioli

I thought the pasta was very delicate, not too thick, it cooked very well, although some of them opened up in the pot of water, I blame the fact that my pot was too small. 

The taste of the ravioli filling blended perfectly with the sauce I made. Me and my husband ate a full bag in one sitting, but you could probably feed at least 3 people on just that.  I'm definitely going to try more of his products in the future and I recommend this as a fast lunch solution, the whole thing takes less then 10 minutes from when you start boiling the water to the finished dish. 

For a special occasion I would still prefer making my own ravioli, nothing beats home made, but for an every day meal this was perfect. 

Enjoy! 

Valentina

RealItalianKitchen