Monday, November 12, 2012

Baked Ravioli Bolognese "Parmigiano" with Borgatti's Ravioli

 There are so many companies that make pasta and ravioli...
 and they all have their fans.
That said, I can only tell you which ones are my favorites.
 Piemonte in New York City's Little Italy makes a wonderful ravioli, although I have to say I've never had their home made egg noodle pasta. Pastosa on Long Island is another great source for ravioli, and again I have never tasted their egg noodle pasta. Raffetto's on Houston Street in Manhattan is another great choice. I recently discovered their artichoke ravioli. WOW! So good!
This particular entry is all about ravioli and my absolute hands down favorite for both ravioli and egg noodle pasta (and the one that made me a big fat ravioli fan) is Borgatti's on East 187th Street by Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.
 Just ask any chef!
 On March 15th, 2011 I wrote about the virtues of Arthur Avenue, however until I developed this recent recipe (inspired by a ravioli dish suggested by Ciro at Tony's DiNapoli in NYC) that brought out the best in a cheese ravioli, Borgatti's was simply a source for fabulous fresh egg noodle pasta in all cuts, shapes and flavors...and NOT Ravioli. So strange.
There are no quantities or measurements to speak of in this particular entry
 because it all depends on how many ravioli you will be serving. You will, however, need at least 6 cups of sauce and at least 8 oz. of cheese for grating
if you serve 24 large ravioli's in two layers as described below.
Additionally, I feel that by using your favorite meat sauce, bolognese or ragu, it
 may give you the incentive to try this recipe sooner rather than later
because of the potentially shorter preparation time.
If you do have the time, you can try my Flank Steak Ragu recipe from November 2, 2010 in this blog's "archive". Simply click on the 2010 entries to the right on this screen
 and scroll till you're there.

Are you ready?

*Coat the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and then evenly spread sauce across the bottom of the dish
*Boil Borgatti's large cheese ravioli per instructions and reserve some of the starched water after draining
*Immediately place one complete layer of  cooked ravioli in baking dish, cover with a layer of sauce and grate a heavy coat of Parmigiano Reggiano (my preference) or Grana Padana on top
*Add a second layer of ravioli on top of the first layer in the same order so each ravioli is
covering the one below it
*Repeat the sauce and grated cheese process with more of an emphasis on the amount of sauce
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and add starched water around the edges of the dish. This will add some flavor and help keep the  ravioli from drying out. The starched water formula is about 1/3 cup for every 24 pieces of large ravioli (2 layers of 12)
*In a 400 degree preheated oven, bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown on top.
*Remove from oven, wait about 5 minutes and then serve with fresh artisan bread (see blog pic). When serving, make sure to serve a double layer of ravioli...meaning top and bottom intact...ie 2 pieces, 4 pieces, etc.


Note: This is not a typical "Parmesan" recipe using Mozzarella cheese. The use of Reggiano or Grana provides for a different take on the typical cheesy "Parmesan" recipes and compliments the cheese ricotta inside the ravioli.
Don't let me stop you from using Mozzarella. I added some to this recipe (a very little on each layer) on one occasion and it was still great. I just think, however, that it gets to be too much cheese and gets in the way of the ricotta/parmigiano marriage.



Mangia Baby
Bert




Borgatti's Ravioli & Egg Noodle Menu 
 
Baked Ravioli 
 
Madonia Brothers or Addeo's Bread


Classic Caesar Salad recipe according to Bert
Recipe forthcoming very very soon...stay tuned...and as always...
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