Cheese steak ravioli with basil

Momma had a some additions to her dinner count and she had not even expected to cook that evening as she had been out all day. Did Momma panic?

Momma Explains: I never panic as long as I have pasta of some sort in the house. Since necessity truly is often the mother of invention, when I learned that I had unexpected guests to dinner, I just started opening my pantry, fridge and freezer. The result was a new dish for our family that was quite filling and quite a hit. I served it with Castano 2007 Monastrell which enhanced the basil portion of this dish. My new hit is called Cheese steak ravioli with basil, it is a creamy sauce and very filling so a simple salad or raw veggie platter is all you need to complete the meal.

Cheese Steak Ravioli with Basil

You will need about 4 pounds of ravioli, I use the four cheese ravioli bag from Costco.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pan, when hot add 7 frozen chopped steaks
( I used frozen chopped steak from Costco), salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Cook steaks thoroughly, chopping with spatula as they cook until they are fairly shredded. As they cook, drizzle about 1/4 cup more olive oil and 8 tablespoons of butter, stir and keep cooking on medium heat. When the butter and oil have been blended add 1 cup finely chopped basil ( I used fresh basil) if you do not have fresh basil convert the prepared basil accordingly. I would approximate it to be about 2-3 tablespoons prepared basil paste. Mix ingredients and add 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, stir and add 1/2 cup red tomato sauce or 2 tablespoons tomato paste in 1/2 cup water. You should stir all ingredients and taste, it may need more salt and pepper. Meanwhile boil a large pot of water and add plenty of salt to the water, I prefer Kosher salt and do a palm-full. Cook raviolis as directed, they cook quickly so get that table set fast. I spoon my ravioli out by hand with a large mesh strainer to prevent breakage. Then I pour the steak sauce mixture over the ravioli and toss very gently. as we were eating we sipped the Castano and enjoyed our hearty and impromptu dinner. This is not a very wet sauce, it just coats that large bowl of ravioli. If you want a wetter sauce just cut down on the amount of ravioli.