Authentic Cheese Ravioli Recipe

Italian Cheese Ravioli Recipe

If you've ever visited that little corner of Italy called Piedmont you'll know it to be food heaven. My wife is Italian, I'm not, but as she says we can't all be perfect:)

Well, back to the point I was making. Piedmont is paradise for cheese lovers (like me) and when my wife convinced me, not hard to do, to move with her to Piedmont I was in a world of cheese like no other.

The cheese is why I like this recipe so much - you get to use a hold lot of great Italian ones and the ravioli is nice too!

Ingredients

8 squares of large size squares of fresh ravioli pasta

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese or Grana Padano

1/4 cup goat cheese

2 cloves garlic, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Tomato Broth Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 shallots, chopped

1/2 cup of red wine

1/2 cup strong chicken stock

4 very ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons minced sundried tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil

1/3 of a cup parmesan cheese or Grana Padano

Instructions

1) For the ravioli, in a small bowl mix together ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, goat cheese, and garlic and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

2) Lay four of the squares of pasta out on a board and moisten the edges well with water. Place about 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture in the middle of the pasta then top with a square of pasta and crimp the edge well. Set aside until ready to serve.

3) For the tomato broth, heat a large saute pan with olive oil until very hot. Add garlic and shallots and saute until you can smell the aroma about 1 minute. Add red wine and reduce about 3 minutes until almost dry add chicken stock and tomatoes and over high heat reduce about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil and pepper and simmer for about 2 minutes. Season with salt. Keep warm.

4) To assemble, heat 2 quarts of salted water until boiling, add the ravioli and cook just until the water comes back to a boil about 2 to 3 minutes.

5) Place the ravioli into a soup plate then pour the tomato broth over the ravioli.

Serve hot and garnished with parmesan cheese