Toasted Pine Nut Ravioli with Bacon and Spinach

Toasted Pine Nut Ravioli with Bacon and Spinach.  Crispy bacon, toasted pine nuts and spinach cooked in an olive oil and bacon grease flavored sauce with cheesy ravioli tossed in.  This is the pasta dish you didn't know you needed.  Totally unconventional since it is not tossed in a heavy sauce, but the bacon flavor that comes across is unreal.  I love that the oil based coating gives the ravioli a lighter feel and really highlights this excellent pasta.

Raviolis were one of my favorite pastas to enjoy.  They were like a special treat to the typical spaghetti and meatballs we usually had.  I only ever ate them one way though, tossed in tomato sauce.  Now while I absolutely love that combination, as my taste buds have matured, I have enjoyed trying out some other flavor options.

This recipe kind of just came to me.  I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner one Sunday night, and Nate said, "Why not a ravioli recipe, we've never done that." Alright Nate say less!  My mind immediately started cranking out ideas and fortunately, I have just found some bacon on sale so the decision was pretty simple.

Ingredients:

• ravioli
• pine nuts
• bacon
• spinach
• olive oil
• garlic
• salt and pepper
• grated parmesan (optional but suggested)

Kitchen Appliances

• skillet
• large sauce pan
• garlic press

The Steps:

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium.  Add in the pine nuts and toast for about 3-4 minutes stirring often to evenly toast. Chop the bacon.  Remove the pine nuts from the pan and add in in bacon pieces.  Cook until crispy and remove from the pan. Remove about half of the bacon grease from the pan.  Still on medium heat, crush the garlic into the skillet.  Add in ⅛ cup of olive oil.  Cook the garlic until fragrant.  Add in the spinach and cook until wilted.  Add in the salt and pepper and stir in.

Cook the ravioli following the directions on the package.  Add the bacon and pine nuts back into the pan and toss in with the spinach.  Next, add in the ravioli and toss.  Add in the last ⅛ cup of olive oil and toss.  Serve immediately with grated parmesan on top if desired.

What flavor of raviolis work the best?

The best part of this recipe is that it doesn't matter.  You can use any flavor of ravioli that you like and it will work.  The flavor profile in this recipe is extremely versatile which is what I love about it!  Of course different ravioli flavors will change the flavor of the dish, but definitely not in a bad way.  I personally used a four cheese ravioli and it was perfection.

If you love this recipe, you might also love:

• Homemade Shrimp Fettuccine Pesto Alfredo
• Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Chicken and Herb Tortellini Soup

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