Red Pesto Ravioli

It seems I have been in quite the cooking rut for the last year or so.  By rut I mean that I am cooking, but am making the same things over and over.  It is true that we all love to eat our favorite foods and there are definitely those meals we can eat over and over and never get tired of them.  But, I have begun thinking of all the recipes that I have in a stack that are clipped from my Cooking Light magazine.  I can’t help but wonder about the world of recipes open to me on the World Wide Web, and about the amazing dishes I have tried at get-togethers but have failed to ask for the recipe.  Last week I decided it is time to get my spatula into action and start making some new dishes.  My new philosophy for cooking:  Start by making one new dish each week.

One of my favorite blogs, 101 Cookbooks by Heidi Swanson, seems to have begun in a very similar way.  If you have 100 cookbooks it is probably time to start cooking.  Ever since I subscribed to her blog I have enjoyed the many recipes she has posted.  Actually, what I mean is that I have enjoyed the idea of making those recipes at some point.  In my new philosophy to start making something new at least once a week I decided to try a recipe that I saved in my email from 101 Cookbooks a little while ago.  It is a recipe for Red Pesto Ravioli.  Let’s just say that the words “pesto” and “ravioli” always catch my attention so, of course, this would have to be our dinner tonight.

Red Pesto Ravioli (A recipe from 101 Cookbooks)

1 pound of fresh cheese raviolis
12 plump, chewy sun-dried tomatoes (about 2 ounces)
2 medium cloves garlic
A couple big pinches of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts, lightly toasted

3 handfuls of baby spinach tossed with a glug of olive oil and a big pinch of salt.
2/3 cup oven-roasted cherry tomatoes (optional)
A bit of crumbled goat cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Salt generously and cooke the raviolis per package instruction.  Drain, but reserve about one cup of the hot pasta water (important!).

In the meantime, make the sun-dried tomato pesto by pulsing the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil, thyme, and salt in a food processor until it comes together into a textured crumble. Add the walnuts, and pulse a few more times – see photo. Set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water in a large mixing bowl along with two-thirds of the sun-dried tomato pesto. Add the cooked raviolis and gently toss. Add more of the hot pasta water if needed to thin the pesto out – it should make a nice chunky sauce. Taste and add more of the pesto if you like – it’s really a matter of personal preference at this point.

Arrange the baby spinach on a large platter and top with everything from the ravioli mixing bowl. Top with the cherry tomatoes and a bit of crumbled goat cheese.

Serves 2 – 4.

Here are some of the changes I made to the recipe, though they are probably not as good as the original:

• I used powdered thyme instead of fresh thyme because the grocery store was out of the fresh stuff.
• I definitely used pine nuts because I LOVE them!  I did not end up roasting them for the sake of time.
• I did put cherry tomatoes on top, but I did not roast them.  Once again, a time thing.
• I did not include the spinach.
• I used freshly grated Romano cheese instead of goat cheese.  Jim and I both are not big fans of goat cheese.
• Otherwise I stuck to the original as closely as possible.  I do have to admit that I was skeptical of the pasta water at first, but it really is important to the dish.

How was it?
We loved it.  I definitely could not resist trying the pesto before adding it to the pasta.  Once I added it to the ravioli, I was sold for life.  Jim and I both agreed that this was a dish we would make for guests in our home.  Thankfully I bought extra sun-dried tomatoes so I can make this recipe again soon.  I am thinking we will make it and take it to lunch a couple days next week.  I know this falls back in the “rut” of making things I love over and over, but who can blame me?