Name: Ravioli with Pea Pesto Sauce
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Italian American
Ingredients: 1 lb frozen sausage ravioli (see notes); 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, separated; 1 shallot, sliced thin (about 2-3 Tablespoons); 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled; 2 cups peas; 1/2 cup classic basil pesto; 2 teaspoons lemon juice; 3 Tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving; 3/4 cup heavy cream; Optional: 1/4 cup sliced cherry tomatoes; Food processor or blender

Description

Silky, cheesy pea pesto sauce makes ravioli shine with ingredients you might just already have in your kitchen. This rich dish feels indulgent, but sneaks in extra veggies and is easy enough for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

Warm a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and tilt the pan to coat the bottom.
Sauté the shallots and garlic until tender, about 3 minutes.
Add the peas, and continue sautéing for about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and carefully transfer the mixture to a food processor using a large spoon or scraping spatula, removing as much as possible form the pan. Clean the pan and set aside.
Add basil pesto and lemon juice to the processor and pulse until well-mixed and creamy.
Add heavy cream to the pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Add pesto and stir until evenly mixed. Bring back to a simmer and remove from heat.

To assemble the dish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil over high heat.
Once the water comes to a boil, cook the ravioli until al dente, according to package instructions.
Warm a large pan over medium heat. Add the remaining extra virgin olive oil, and tilt to coat.
Spoon a few tablespoons of the sauce into the pan and stir it around in the oil.
Add the ravioli to the pan and toss gently to marry the pasta and sauce. Add the remaining pea pesto and grated cheese, and gently toss again. Remove from heat.
Serve immediately, garnished with more cheese and sliced cherry tomatoes.

Notes

Other flavors of ravioli would work as well, but the sausage pairs with the pesto so well. If you have another kind in your freezer, try it out! I think this would be great with any savory ravioli like chicken or cheese.
You could easily make this vegetarian by choosing a cheese-filled ravioli, and you could potentially even make it vegan. If you like to experiment, try out using coconut cream instead of heavy cream for the sauce and vegan ravioli (mushroom would be good!). For the parmesan cheese (in the pesto), you could experiment with nutritional yeast, ground cashews, garlic powder, lemon juice and I’ve even heard a spoonful of hummus can mimic the feel of parmesan in sauces.
If you wanted to just make pea pesto as a spread or for another recipe, you could just stop after step five. Shallots and extra garlic aren’t necessary, but add to the overall flavor.

Category: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian American

Keywords: ravioli with pea pesto sauce, pea pesto ravioli, pea pesto, ravioli, refrigerator cleaning meals