While I was out playing on Earth Day, my husband spent the day cutting grass, weeding and puttering around the yard.
He needed a very satisfying dinner. And the man DOES love his pasta. So I stopped by Trader Joe’s on my way home and saw the Gorgonzola ravioli – huge, tender pieces stuffed generously with one of our favorite cheeses. OK, pretty much any cheese is our favorite cheese while we are eating it, but I digress.
So I came home, and twenty minutes later turned out ravioli with spinach and pancetta in a parmesan cream sauce.
My friends who have suffered through my whining about how I dislike American Italian food no doubt are doing a double take.
Let me clarify. I do not like spaghetti with meat sauce. It’s weird. The spaghetti is too slippery to hold the sauce, which splatters everywhere when you try to slurp it. And, let’s be honest, change one or two ingredients and spaghetti sauce is basically a Sloppy Joe. I like Sloppy Joes, which ironically are less messy than spaghetti because the bread holds on to the sauce. Go figure.
So, Will is very happy and slipping into his hard day’s work coma and I have a dinner I would glady eat again and again.
Gorgonzola Ravioli with Cream Sauce
Serves two (one big eater)
1 9-ounce package gorgonzola ravioli (fresh or frozen)
4 oz. chopped pancetta
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of salt
fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup freshly grated grainy parmesan cheese
Boil water for ravioli
In a large iron or saute pan, fry pancetta until crisp.
Remove pancetta from pan. Drain and reserve drippings. Wipe pan to remove pancetta crumbs that might burn.
Pour a tablespoon of the drippings back into the pan, lower the heat and add spinach.
Cook until spinach wilts.
Drop ravioli into gently boiling water (a rapid boil will break up the pasta). Fresh needs only four-five minutes, frozen needs about six minutes.
Add nutmeg, salt, pepper, half of the cooked pancetta and cream to spinach and bring to a simmer over low heat. After the cream has boiled down a little, add the parmesan cheese and simmer a minute or two.
Drain ravioli and add to cream mixture just to heat through.
Plate it up, sprinkling the remaining pancetta on top, as well as a few grates of parmesan.
Living to Eat 