Basil Ravioli with a Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
When I make homemade sauces or any recipe that calls for herbs, I like to use fresh herbs, as it makes the meal taste so much better. While this is the case, I am sometimes hesitant to buy herbs because the bundle of them provides me more herbs than I need, regardless of the herb type. This was the case for me this week. I had left over basil sitting on our window sill, needing to get used up ASAP. When it comes to basil, I feel like there is a such thing as too much, so I had to be both careful and creative with the recipe I was going to choose. The idea of putting basil in my pasta dough finally dawned upon me and led me to creating Basil Ravioli with a Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce, a flavor combination and unique ravioli you didn’t know you needed–until now!!
Other than sandwiches, homemade pasta is one of my favorite meals to make. The recipe for pasta dough is so simple and is much better than pasta out of the box (which I still use 99% of the time). While homemade pasta does take at least 40 minutes to make, thanks to the 30 minute resting period that the dough needs, the longer wait time does pay off. Not only does homemade pasta taste more fresh, but making your own recipe allows you to get creative and do things like add basil to your dough!! If you want a fun Sunday dinner, this Basil Ravioli HAS to be your next meal!
the details of basil ravioli with a creamy sun dried tomato sauce
As I previously said, homemade pasta is super easy to make! Consisting of just flour, egg, and oil, pasta can be whipped up as a quick and “fancy” Sunday dinner or even just a weeknight meal. Another great thing about homemade pasta is the simplicity of the dough. Specifically, since the dough doesn’t have an overpowering flavor, there is room to add extra flavors to it, like different herbs, or even vegetables! Adding fresh herbs is not only a great way to use up your herbs, but it makes the pasta more vibrant and flavorful. Not only is this great for the pasta, but the herbs also make the meal as a whole taste better, herbs, like basil, pair really well with tomatoes, which are in the sauce I used.
Now that we got the pasta dough covered, we have to touch on the ravioli filling. I used a classic filling of ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, egg, Italian herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper! In order to make sure that the flavor of basil wasn’t too overpowering, I decided to omit basil from the filling and just use oregano and parsley. This didn’t take away from the flavor of the filling, as there is so much more to it than the basil. Personally, I think what matters most in the filling is the cheeses, egg, salt, and pepper. These ingredients provide enough flavor so the filling isn’t bland, as well as give the right ratio of cheese in the ravioli that we all know and love.
Now onto the sauce. While creamy sun dried tomato sauce is a thing and not something totally new, mine is a little different, as it is not a white sauce that is just focused on the cream and sun dried tomatoes, rather it is a blush sauce, as I wanted to add more of a tomato flavor. Specifically, while thinking of what sauces to use for this ravioli, the first one that came to mind was vodka sauce. I then decided since I didn’t have vodka on hand that going and getting it would take too much time, as it was already 5:30PM and I didn’t have our ingredients. So I thought some more, focusing on a blush sauce, and then remembered the sun dried tomato chicken I made before and how it paired so well with basil. That’s when I knew I had to incorporate sun dried tomatoes into a blush sauce.
The sun dried tomatoes bring an extra tomato punch, which adds a lot more flavor to the sauce. Paired with a flavorful basil ravioli, the two create a dynamic duo. They belong together like PB&J. There’s just something about tomato and basil that is so tasty and addictive and leaves you coming back for more.
pasta and sauce subsitutes
If you can’t have cream or just don’t like it, you can totally omit it from the sauce! The flavors of the tomatoes are what matter most!
Speaking of tomatoes, if you don’t like sundried tomatoes, omit them and add more crushed tomatoes! You can also use your favorite red sauce, vodka sauce, or if you’re obsessed with basil use a pesto sauce! Anything goes here.
For the ravioli, if you aren’t the biggest basil fan, go ahead and omit the basil from the dough. The sauce will still pair very well with a classic ravioli.
Finally, the sun dried tomato sauce is very versatile. You can use it for ravioli, lasagna, spaghetti, maybe even chicken parm or a Margherita pizza! There are endless options.
Overall, if you make this recipe, please leave a comment below, tag me on Instagram, pin it, or go like my page/share on Facebook!
Basil Ravioli with a Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
Equipment
- Pasta Maker (see link in Shop page)
Ingredients
Pasta Dough
- 6 cups flour
- 6 eggs
- 3/4 cups water
- 2 tsp olive oil
Filling
- 15 oz ricotta cheese 1 carton
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 1 small bag
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 tsp fresh basil minced
- 1 tsp fresh parsley minced
- 1 tsp fresh oregano minced
- dash of garlic powder
- dash of salt
- dash of black pepper
Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic scape can use garlic cloves
- 15 oz crushed tomatoes 1 can
- 1 can sun dried tomatoes
- 1 cup heavy cream add more to taste
- 1 tsp oregano or more to taste
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
- dash of pepper
- dash of red pepper flakes
Instructions
Pasta
- Place flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
- Beat the eggs, water and oil, then pour into the well. Stir together, forming a ball.
- Turn ball onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Cover with damp paper towel or kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Divide pasta dough into fourths; roll one portion to 1/16-in. thickness using a rolling pin or pasta maker. Place rounded spoonfuls of filling 1 in. apart over half of pasta sheet. Brush around filling with water to moisten. Fold sheet over; press down to seal. Cut into squares with a pastry wheel or knife. If you do not have a pastry wheel, press down on raviolis with a fork to have a nice design!
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli and cook for 1-2 minutes or until ravioli float to the top and are tender.
Filling
- In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Sauce
- Heat olive oil on medium. Add garlic scapes and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add remaining sauce ingredients, minus the heavy cream and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
- Take sauce off of heat and crush in a food processor. Once well combined, return to the saucepan.
- Add heavy cream to the sauce and cook for 2 minutes.
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