Oven Baked Ravioli

Ravioli is great however baked in the oven with extra sauce and cheese is delicious. This dish mimics lasagne without all the layering; so if you are in a hurry this would be the recipe for you.   

Oven Baked Ravioli

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2 x 350g packages of fresh Cheese and Spinach Ravioli

3 cups pasta sauce, homemade or from a jar

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

shredded parmesan cheese

shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9x13inch baking dish.

In a large bowl whisk together the pasta sauce, Herbs de Provence and mascarpone cheese until nicely blended and smooth. Set aside.

Cook the fresh ravioli according to package directions. Drain well. Add the ravioli to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the ravioli to the prepared baking dish. Top with the shredded parmesan and the shredded mozzarella. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 to 20 minutes or until the cheese and sauce are nice and bubbly. 

It's been a lovely week and a bit of relaxing and enjoying. I hope everyone had a great one and a great weekend too. - JD  

Mascarpone Sauce

I bought some ravioli from the Italian Centre and realised that I haven't had an alfredo sauce in quite some time. In my hunt for the perfect recipe... I always sift through the many cookbooks I have looking at all the possibility for a particular recipe. After much cross referencing and deliberation I combined 2 to 3 recipes to make one recipe. It's handy having as many cookbooks as I do! While I was feeling out my recipe I came across this mascarpone sauce and in a blink of an eye I decided that would be the more fitting sauce for the ravioli.

It is one of those moments when everything comes together. The sauce was creamy with just the right amount of garlic and a delicate sage flavour. 

Mascarpone Sauce with Garlic, Mushrooms and Sage

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4 tablespoons of butter

1-2 cloves of garlic

8oz/225g of mushrooms of your choice

9oz/250g of mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons of milk

1 teaspoon fresh or dried sage

salt and pepper, optional 

Melt the butter in a large skillet or pan. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in the mascarpone cheese, milk, and sage. Stir carefully, making sure everything is combined and the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Pour over pasta and toss to coat.  

You can serve this sauce over any pasta. It went well with the fresh ravioli I bought from the Italian Centre. A bit of shaved parmesan cheese on top and a sprinkle of fresh parsley and you are good to go! - JW