Ravioli Improv

A pasta craving does not go away until it is fed. And I have some mean pasta cravings. Last week when the pasta monster came to call, I was in a distinctly non-grocery-shopped state. So I improvised with the packaged ravioli I had in the fridge and some other scrounged ingredients and got a result worth blogging about. I even repeated the effort for dinner guests shortly after. Here it is.

 

- Packaged ravioli, any variety that floats your boat

- Olive Oil

- Butter

- Heavy Cream

- Garlic, chopped

- Italian style sausage links, chopped into pieces (I used Al Fresco chicken sausage)

- Shitake mushrooms, stems removed, chopped into strips

- Sun dried tomatoes, patted dry of excess oil and chopped into strips

- Parmesan Cheese

- Fresh Parsley and / or basil, chopped

1. First, I boiled some water in a big pot for the ravioli. Drop the ravs in to the boiling, salted water and cook for about 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.

 

2. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, sauté the garlic in olive oil and butter. Don’t be shy with any of these ingredients. But keep your flame low so that you don’t burn off all of your butter.

 

3. When the garlic starts to get nicely golden, add chopped shitake mushrooms and chopped sausage. When those are nicely browned, add chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add more butter at this point if your pan is starting to get dry.

 

4. Over the heat, pour about a half cup of heavy cream into the mixture and cook. What? I never claimed this was a healthy meal! Add ravioli to pan and delicately stir to incorporate. Continue cooking until raviolis are warm and lightly golden. Adjust seasonings.

 

5. Transfer ravioli mixture to plates. Top with Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley and / or basil and serve.

Enjoy!