ravioli di granchio
crab ravioli
Now a recipe that might seem controversial, cooking shop-bought pasta. But I'm doing this to introduce you to my concept of 'pragmatic pasta' - recipes where I’ll use good quality store-bought produce to cook a reasonably easy meal.
Call it cheating or simply adding stuff to supermarket food if you like, but let's just acknowledge a few things first. One, we don't all have the time and ingredients at hand to be able to make fresh pasta. Two, there are actually some very, very acceptable pre-prepared chiller cabinet products available nowadays and having a pack or two on the top shelf of your fridge can sometimes provide the best compromise between a busy schedule and feeling like you've made the effort to cook something yourself that tastes fresh and home-cooked.
Some of you may feel cheated that I have the audacity to suggest cutting corners like this and are just itching to get hold of this recipe for fresh pasta and crab ravioli filling; do everything yourself from scratch. You might suddenly feel the urge to go crabbing and catch your own fresh crabs. Or rush out and buy a cow to make your own ricotta. Or plant some wheat and mill your own flour for the pasta. And that’s entirely up to you, I wish you well..... but this isn’t a 100% homemade fresh pasta recipe, and the rest of us are going to use store-bought ravioli, fresh from the chiller cabinet.
For the still-sceptical, trust me. With a little thought, the best store bought products you can find and some good cooking skills, you really will be able to end up with a perfectly acceptable pasta dish. I did exactly that this year and served the ravioli on the left as a starter for our family Easter dinner.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
chop and cook the chilli
grate lemon zest
pick and chop fresh parsley
boil and cook pasta
dress the pasta
METHOD
The crab and crayfish ravioli I used are from Dell’Ugo, via UK supermarket Waitrose, and they're excellent. Simple enough for even a fist-time cook to prepare - start by chopping up the fresh chillis of your choice (you're in charge of heat and how much you put it!) and warming them in a centimetre or so of EVO in a microwave on full power for 20-30 sec. Grate some lemon zest.
Boil the pasta following the packet instructions, then drain carefully and dress with either plain EVO and lemon juice or chilli oil and a pinch of lemon zest and freshly chopped parsley.
It's OK to cheat. Sometimes.
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: 290
Fat (g): 15
Sat Fat (g): 5.4
Carb (g): 28.8
Sug (g): 0.6
Fibre(g): 1.8
Prot (g): 9.3
Salt (g): 0.6
Nutritional information is provided as an indication only of approximate values for the recipe on this page. You should make your own calculations if you have specific dietry requirements or are required to follow a strict calorie-controlled diet.
