Intro to Cooking: Ravioli in Brown Butter Sauce

This is another recipe from Andrea Lynn’s the I Love Trader Joe’s College Cookbook, which I still absolutely love. Ravioli is one of my favorite dishes, because it is comforting and warm. However, I’m not even going to pretend that this is a healthy recipe: several tablespoons of butter per serving, cheese stuffed inside delicious carbohydrates. That being said, this is a comforting, easy to make dish, so don’t discount it just because of the butter.

By Michelle

Not only that, this can be easily made while living in dorms or with limited cookware. All you need is a small soup pot (for the ravioli) and a small saucepan, plus a small strainer, and freezer space. I love frozen ravioli because you can take them out as you need them and they won’t go bad. (You will have to boil them a little longer than usual!)

Instead of ravioli from Trader Joe’s, I used a standard pre-made ravioli that you can purchase anywhere, usually in the fresh pasta or deli section of the grocery store. Prepackaged gnocchi would also be delicious with this.

Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce

You’ll need…

⦁       2 9-ounce packages of pre-made cheese stuffed ravioli (such as Trader Giotto’s Carbonara Stuffed Cheese Ravioli, from Trader Joe’s)

⦁       5 tablespoons of unsalted butter

⦁       1/3 of a bag of arugula

How to make it…

1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the ravioli until they are soft, 4-6 minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan over high heat, melt the butter, stirring constantly. (You really have to babysit this!) Cook the butter until it gets frothy and turns a golden color, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Add the arugula to the butter, stirring until it wilts. Stir in the ravioli, coating it in the brown butter and arugula.

Optional add ins: spinach instead of arugula; parmesan cheese, pepper; a spoonful or two of cream cheese and spinach; and/or a little bit of garlic.

Note: This recipe makes four servings, so it’s great for entertaining. But if you freeze the ravioli, it is really easy to cut in half or even into quarters!