Baked Ravioli

We do happen to love most Italian dishes so I tend to make a lot of them. This is a simple one if you have access to a high quality fresh ravioli and some sauce on hand. I happen to like to hand roll ravioli if I have the time. Often the ones you can buy seem to skimp on the fillings. I found this great fresh one being sold at the local Sams Club and gave it a try in this dish, both hubby and I loved it’s light pasta and fresh taste, the little pockets were filled with a nice tasting filling too. I guess I won’t be hand rolling ravioli as often anymore. I made a simple tomato sauce for the dish and I will start off with that recipe for you. Altogether if you are using fresh pasta it will take you about an hour to get this dish on the table.

                                                     Simple Tomato Sauce

2  28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, chopped by hand into pieces about

       1/2 inch big

1 medium onion diced fine

3-4 cloves garlic minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar (optional if tomatoes are a little bitter tasting)

1/2 cup wine, red or white as long as it is a dry type

Heat a medium saucepan and when hot add oil and allow it to heat. Add onions and saute until they give up their moisture, add garlic and saute a minute, add seasonings and cook another minute or so, add wine and cook until wine is almost evaporated. Add crushed tomatoes and stir well, let simmer about 15-30 minutes until it thickens a little and reduces in volume.

                                                           Baked Ravioli

1 package large round cheese or meat ravioli

3-4 cups tomato sauce

1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced or grated

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, when it boils add the ravioli and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and add to the pot of sauce, mix well.

Into a 2-3 quart shallow dish spoon a layer of ravioli and cover it with a layer of the cheese, continue layering until you have used it all. Place the casserole into the oven and cook for 30 minutes until the cheese if melted and the dish is hot throughout. Serve it with a salad and some garlic bread, you’re done! Quick and easy.

Baked Ravioli