Back to Cooking with Ravioli with Artichoke Sauce!!

It took a week, but I started cooking again. I guess that's because we actually went food shopping this week and re-stocked our house.

The first dish I made came from this month's Food Network magazine, dedicated to all things Italian. A pasta recipe caught my eye, and since I had all but 3 of the ingredients in the house, I added the missing items to my list and planned to make that tonight. And it was delicious! (To be honest, this recipe also caught my eye because it used half & half and we have some in the house that must be used by the 27th, or else it gets wasted. Perfect timing!)

Ravioli with Artichoke Sauce. Yum. The original recipe is actually agnolotti with artichoke sauce but frozen ravioli is much more economical to buy, and the recipe said it could be substituted.

This recipe is pretty quick. If you take 10 minutes to chop the thawed artichokes and let them sit...when you are ready to start dinner, get your ravioli going and work on the sauce at the same time that is boiling. It probably took me the 25 active minutes to do the sauce - would have taken over a half hour if I didn't chop the artichokes in the afternoon.


Here are the ingredients:

* 1 9-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and coarsely chopped
* 1 cup half-and-half
* 1 clove garlic, smashed
* 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* Kosher salt
* 1 cup frozen peas (do not thaw)
* 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
* 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 pound refrigerated cheese agnolotti (moon-shaped stuffed pasta) or ravioli
* 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves (we did not use these, but it is in the recipe)


Directions:

Combine the artichokes, half-and-half, garlic, red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.


Cover and cook until the artichokes are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the peas and continue to cook, covered, until tender, about 5 more minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Discard the garlic clove.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli and cook as the label directs.

Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and transfer to the skillet with the sauce.

Add the Parmesan to the skillet and gently stir until the pasta is coated.

Thin the sauce with some of the reserved cooking water. Stir in the basil.

This recipe serves 4.

Enjoy!!