As our fans know and understand we’re big believers in from scratch cooking but we’re also food pragmatist; that is to say, we understand that homemade food can, at times, be semi-homemade. Case in point, is a wonderful semi fresh pasta from the Italian company Giovanni Rana. Giovanni Rana, a 50-year old Italian pasta company with an excellent reputation in Europe, specializes in filled pastas (about 15 are available in the US) made with extra thin wrappers and, with some shapes, D.O.P. ingredients. Do we think we, and in turn you, can make better filled pasta at home? Absolutely, but we also realize you have a life and want to fill it with family, a profession, and the other nice things in life beyond food (yes, there are a few non food related activities we enjoy). So, buying pre-made fresh pasta isn’t a bad thing as the goal is to make great pasta at home.
We created a Tortelloni (large versions of tortellini) with Cream Sauce dish with Rana’s tortelloni (made in the US) stuffed with aged prosciutto and ricotta and we enjoyed the pasta tremendously. The pasta thickness is just right and the filling was a happy marriage with the density of the pasta. We would have preferred Prosciutto di Parma as opposed to “aged prosciutto” (we wondered if the prosciutto was domestic or non Parma made in Italy) given the noticeable difference in quality. Rana also recently opened up a combination pasta store and dining room in the Chelsea Market (NYC). The company, headquartered near Verona in Northern Italy.
- ¼ cup of heavy cream
- 2-3 tabs of butter
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Grated Parmigianno Reggiano
- ¼ pound of tortelloni
- In a suace pan, melt the butter. Add the heavy cream and slowly bring to a gentle boil. Add the salt and pepper and mix well. Add 2-3 tabelspoons of grated cheese. Stir well. Add the pasta directly to the sauce pan and stir well (thought gently). Serve and grate more cheese over the pasta.
Couldn’t agree more about the usefulness of ‘semi-homemade’ dishes, especially when it comes to stuffed pastas. And the Rana brand is really top notch.
Thanks, Frank.