Three Sauce Ravioli

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes. It has three, yes THREE sauces on it. A marinara, an arugula pesto, and a creamy alfredo. How could that be anything short of amazing?! So here’s the deal, I am aware that not everyone out there is as crazy as I am and aren’t going to want to make all three sauces. This is why this dish is so wonderful! If you don’t want to make your marinara, use your favorite jarred tomato sauce! Don’t feel like making pesto? Get a jar of it from the store! Please make the alfredo sauce though. The jarred stuff should be illegal. I am including recipes for all three sauces for the industrious adventurer. If you want to be an extra over achiever, make your own ravioli as well. I, however, use the store bought stuff. The other nice thing about this recipe is that you will most definitely have leftover marinara and pesto. These both freeze wonderfully for future use.

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen meat ravioli

Pesto:

• 1 cup baby arugula

• 1/4 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

• juice of 1/2 lemon (adds nice flavor and preserves bright green color)

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I find that fresh garlic has too much bite, but either works)

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Marinara:

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 yellow onion chopped

• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 carrot chopped

• 1 celery chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

• 2 32oz. cans crushed tomatoes

• 1 cup water

• 2 dried bay leaves

Alfredo:

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

For the pesto:

Place all ingredients except parmesan cheese in a food processor, blender, or bullet. You can also pulverize the ingredients by hand, but it takes much longer. Blend until smooth.

Stir in parmesan cheese and adjust seasonings if needed.

Store in airtight container or freeze.

For the marinara:

In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium flame.

Add the onions and garlic and add half of the salt. Saute until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add the celery, carrots, and the other half of the salt. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and pepper and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.

Remove and discard the bay leaves.

After it has cooled, puree the sauce with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender until silky and smooth. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, skip the blending step.

Add more water if needed for smooth consistency.

Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator or freeze.

For the alfredo sauce:

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter and add the cream.

Over medium high heat, bring the mixture to a simmer, but do not boil or you will break the sauce.

Once simmering, whisk in the parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese melts.

Allow the sauce to cool for about 5 minutes before using.

Cook the ravioli according to package instructions and drain.

Arrange the ravioli on a plate and drizzle each sauce over the top.

Garnish with grated parmesan, if desired.

Servings: 4