Tomato & basil cream sauce for ravioli

For ➍
3 large fresh tomatoes
½ small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs butter
4 tbs Parmigiano
2 ts basil flakes
½ ts oregano
1¼ tbs cream
slivered almonds
salt & pepper

Boil the tomatoes for 4-5 m or until tender. Chop the onions. Saute them in some oil till they look pinkish and glazed. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 m.

Blend the tomatoes, onions and garlic mixture to form a smooth paste.

Add some butter to a heated pan. Add the sauce and let it boil on medium heat. Add the basil and oregano, salt and pepper, and let it simmer.

Whisk the cream and the Parmigiano cheese in a separate bowl into a thick mixture. Reduce the flame to low. Add this mixture to the tomato sauce.

(Meanwhile, cook the cheese ravioli.)

Layer the cooked ravioli in a dish. Top it with the sauce. Garnish with some more Parmigiano cheese, slivered almonds and basil flakes.

Salsa con le noci per ravioli (walnuts sauce for ravioli)

For ➍
75 g walnut meats, peeled & minced
30 cl milk
3 tbs butter
4 tbs flour
salt & white pepper
700 g meat-free ravioli

Shell the walnuts, scald the nutmeats in boiling water for a few s, then peel and mince them.

Make a béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a small pot and carefully stirring in the flour. Continue cooking over low heat till the flour is lightly browned. Slowly add the milk in a thin stream, stirring briskly to keep lumps from forming.* When you’ve added all the milk, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring gently, till the sauce thickens (this will take several m). Then add the walnuts.

Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in boiling salted water, drain them, and carefully stir the sauce into them.

*If they do, stop adding milk, remove the pan from the fire, and stir the mixture till the lumps are gone before adding more milk. You can also make the béchamel sauce in a microwave oven: melt the butter and stir in the flour, then stir in the milk and the salt and pepper. Heat the sauce over high heat for 2 m and stir it briskly till most of the lumps are gone. Heat it for 4 more m at medium power, stirring after 2 m, then stir in the walnuts and heat 1 more m. Let it sit for a couple of m.

Read another Ligurian recipe, the related pine nut battuto recipe.