Now, if you have a ravioli filling with a seasoned beef or pork sausage, then that robust red sauce containing herbs and garlic is definitely appropriate. Then, somewhere in the middle there will be milder, somewhat creamy sauces that without cream would be red sauces. The idea is you can try to match or contrast the flavors of the fillings with the flavors and intensity of the sauces.
The short collection of sauce recipes below cover some of the opportunities you will want when you have made and are serving a fine home made or purchased refrigerated ravioli of most any type. Most important, they give you a starting point from which to experiment to develop the perfect sauce for the perfect ravioli you have created/purchased.
Let's take a look at the types of ingredients you might use when making a sauce for ravioli. You can vary what you use and how much to achieve your sauce goal. And you can modify the ingredient combinations to suit yourself, and/or your guests.
Typical Ingredients:
Onion – chopped
Garlic – minced
Basil – fresh or dried
Oregano – fresh or dried
Salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes
Crushed tomatoes – canned
Tomato sauce and tomato paste
Chicken broth – or vegetable broth
Heavy cream – or milk
Sun-dried tomatoes – in herbed oil
Parmesan cheese – grated
Parsley – for garnish
Other nice sauce ingredients you might want to include:
Olives – black, green, Kalamata (halved or chopped)
Sliced mushrooms – lightly sautéed in butter and chopped
Artichoke hearts – canned in water or oil, chopped
Mozzarella cheese – cubed, then melted in the sauce
Ground beef – browned
Italian sausage – browned and cut into thin slices if you use sausage links.
Now we get to some specific recipes ... have fun!
A Purchased Red Sauce (for cheese or meat ravioli)
Ingredients: (makes enough sauce for one pound of fresh ravioli)
1 lb. of Fresh Ravioli (home made or purchased)
1, 24 oz. jar of Marinara Sauce (Barilla's® is a great brand)
1/3 lb. of grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Directions:
Put the individual serving bowls you plan to use into a 180 degrees F oven to pre-warm them.
Put the marinara sauce in an 8"x12" casserole.
Heat the sauce in the microwave oven until it is steaming.
Boil the ravioli in salted water per package directions or gently for five to six minutes if you have made fresh ravioli, then drain them and gently mix the pieces into the casserole of sauce individually. Ladle sauce over each ravioli as it is added so none stick together later.
Then sprinkle the grated cheese over it.
Warm the casserole in the microwave oven for one minute.
Serve the ravioli in the pre-warmed wide individual serving bowls.
A Simple Red Sauce (for cheese or meat ravioli)
Ingredients: (makes enough sauce for one pound of fresh ravioli)
1lb. of Fresh Ravioli (home made or purchased)
1, 28 oz. can of Peeled Plum Tomatoes with juice, chopped
4 large cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced
1 oz. of fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, at serving time
Directions:
Put the individual serving bowls you plan to use into a 180 degrees F oven to pre-warm them.
Put the olive oil and the garlic slices into a large skillet and heat on low to medium heat. Let the garlic fry until the edges turn very light gold.
Add the plum tomatoes and the juice and the chopped basil and stir. Increase the heat to high.
Add 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of pepper.
Stir the mixture and bring it to a low boil on high heat, then reduce the heat to very low to maintain a simmer or low boil.
Cook for 30 minutes, then break up any remaining chunks of tomatoes.
Simmer/low boil on low heat until the sauce thickens (15 to 20 minutes), stirring every three minutes.
Taste the sauce and if needed add a small amount of salt, then mix it in.
Boil the ravioli in salted water per package directions or gently for five to six minutes if you have made fresh ravioli, then drain them and gently mix the pieces into the sauce.
Serve the ravioli in pre-warmed wide individual serving bowls, along with a dish of parmesan cheese.
Creamy Red Sauce for Ravioli
Ingredients: (makes about 5 cups of sauce)
2 tbsp. of olive oil
1 cup of onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
¼ cup of fresh basil, or 2 tbsp. of dried basil
1 tsp. of dried oregano
1½ tsp. of Kosher salt
½ tsp. of black pepper, freshly ground
½ tsp. of red pepper flakes
1, 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
½ cup of chicken broth
½ cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
⅓ cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tbsp. of flat-leaf parsley chopped, for garnish
1½ lbs of fresh ravioli
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to soften, about 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Stir in the basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook for another 30 seconds, stirring often.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, the sun-dried tomatoes and the chicken broth. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
Allow the sauce to evaporate some water and thicken, for 20 to 30 minutes.
Add the ravioli and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the cream.
Stir in the parmesan cheese and mix until it has melted.
Serve the ravioli hot and garnish the dish with the chopped parsley.
White Wine Cream Sauce for Ravioli
This type of sauce is excellent for seafood ravioli.
Ingredients: (makes about one pint of sauce)
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence
1/2 cup of freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
2 tablespoons of parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
1 lb. of ravioli, simmered in water for five minutes and then drained
Directions:
Put the butter into a medium size skillet over medium heat.
Once it melts, sprinkle the flour in and cook for about 1-2 minutes, stirring fairly often. Let the resulting roux turn slightly golden but not dark.
Add the wine and stir to mix it with the roux. Let it bubble until it's reduced by half (this will happen quite fast, less than a minute, so keep an eye on it).
Whisk in the cream so the roux is incorporated completely, then stir in the Italian seasoning. Cook it for a two minutes on low heat until the sauce has thickened to your liking.
Stir in the cheese and mix it in until it melts, and then take the skillet off the heat.
Stir in the parsley and season the sauce with salt & pepper as needed.
Add drained, hot ravioli to the skillet and mix gently until it is all completely coated.
You can add a tablespoon or so of the hot pasta water to the sauce if it is too thick before you add the ravioli.
Serve the ravioli with cream sauce hot.
Creamy Tomato Sauce with Ravioli
Ingredients: (makes two to three cups of sauce)
2 tbsp. of olive oil
1 medium onion - finely diced
2 cloves of garlic - minced
1 red bell pepper - sliced
½ tsp. of Italian herbs
½ tsp. of red pepper flakes
½ tsp. of black pepper
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp. of tomato paste
⅓ cup of white wine
⅓ cup of sun dried tomatoes, diced
½ cup of chicken stock
⅓ cup of heavy cream
3 cups of baby spinach (packed)
½ cup of parmesan cheese - grated
1 tbsp. fresh parsley - chopped
1 lb. of fresh ravioli
Directions:
Add the 2 tbsp. of olive oil to a large frying pan (or skillet) and heat over medium heat, then add in the finely diced onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften.
Add in the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring continuously.
Add in the Italian herbs, chili flakes, black pepper and a pinch of salt, give it a stir then add in the sliced red bell pepper, the tomato paste and the wine, stir again, and cook for another minute or two to reduce the wine slightly.
Add the sun dried tomatoes, chicken stock and cream. Stir everything together and heat to a simmer.
Now add the ravioli and mix gently.
Allow the mixture to simmer for 5 to 6 minutes, until the center of the ravioli is cooked.
Add the spinach and parmesan cheese and cook for a minute to allow the cheese to melt and the spinach to wilt.
Sprinkle the dish with fresh parsley and serve it hot.
Ravioli in Creamy Bacon Sauce
Ingredients: (makes about one pint of sauce)
1 pound of fresh ravioli
1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. of butter
4 oz. of thick cut bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
¼ tsp each of sweet paprika and grated nutmeg
½ tsp each of black pepper and dried thyme
½ cup chicken broth
1 ¼ cups of heavy cream
1 oz. of grated Parmesan
1 tbsp. of lemon juice
2 tbsp. of chopped parsley
crushed red pepper flakes, for serving
freshly ground black pepper, for serving
sea salt (to taste)
Directions:
Get all the prep done before you start cooking: mince the garlic, finely chop the shallot and dice or cut the bacon into small pieces.
Bring a 2 gallon pot of salted water, 3/4 full, to a boil.
Heat the oil and butter in a skillet over medium. Add the bacon, and cook until crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove excess fat, if needed.
Add the garlic and shallot, and cook until they are soft, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the pepper, nutmeg, paprika and thyme. Deglaze the skillet with chicken broth, simmer for 2 minutes, while stirring, and then scrape the brown bits with a wooden spoon from the bottom of the skillet.
Pour in the cream and add the grated Parmesan cheese, then stir until the cheese is combined with the sauce. Simmer over low or very low heat, but do not boil it, for about 5 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken.
Adjust the salt to taste.
While the sauce is simmering, add the ravioli to the pot with the boiling water and cook it, for about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the ravioli using a colander, while reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water.
Add the ravioli and chopped parsley to the sauce, and stir gently to combine. If needed, add a splash of the cooking water to thin the sauce.
Serve the ravioli topped with red pepper flakes and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
Enjoy!