Family Chow Hall

Italian Ravioli Soup

November 13th, 2008

Ravioli soup — A scrumptious treat and a change from ordinary spaghetti or labor-intensive lasagne.

You get the best of both worlds with this dish - all the flavor of making it yourself… Plus the ease of pulling something prepared out of the freezer.

Frozen pasta is delicious and cooks within minutes. Tortellini, Pierogies, even egg noodles are all superb frozen pastas.

The sauce for this dish takes a small amount of effort, but it’s worth it. If you’re not into making your own sauce, pick up a jar of Ragu (or whatever).

And while you prepare it, you can imagine yours is the big, happy, food-passing, finger-licking, cheek-kissing Italian family you see on Olive Garden commercials. So your daydreams may burst the second you all sit down together at the table… hey - you had fun imagining it, right?

Garlic Bread is the preferred side for this dish, but a good salad would be a healthier choice.

Italian Ravioli Soup
serves 8-10 / prep. time: 20 minutes

1 pkg. frozen ravioli (cheese or meat filling, whichever you prefer)
1 lb. bulk sausage - it can be Italian, plain, or garlic
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1 can chicken broth
1 can V-8
3/4 c. water
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. parsley
3/4 t. basil
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 t. sugar
Parmesan cheese for topping

Well, that ingredient list looks kinda long, but most of it is just the flavorings for the sauce. If you’re taking the easy way out, buy a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce and add a can of chicken broth. If you’re making the sauce from scratch, dump the tomatoes, paste, chicken broth, water, V-8, the herbs and flavorings in a medium stockpot and set the heat on low.

In a skillet, brown the sausage and onion together. If it’s a bit on the greasy side, drain it before proceeding. Next I usually let the sausage cool and then run it through my chopper. I do this because sausage tends to be rather sticky and wants to stay together in large clumps. I prefer it fine, so into the chopper it goes. After that, I can dump it into my bubbly aromatic tomato sauce.

Finally, in an even bigger stockpot bring some water to a boil for the ravioli. Check the package for exact amount required, but it should be plenty. Follow the directions for cooking the noodles - it’s usually just a few minutes in boiling water. Then you will drain the ravioli and add it to the sauce, or vice versa depending on how big your stockpot is.

Now your soup is done — ladel it up and sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!

Entry Filed under: Italian, Recipes, Soup, Supper, pork