Tomato Basil Sauce for Ravioli

Several days back I had bought these spinach ravioli’s from Sam’s and instead of just topping them with parmesan I thought tomato sauce would be good. I started looking online and found my inspiration here. I have tried it few times with variation and below recipe is the best of the lot. With Jalapeno’s kick it turns out really delicious.

Serves: 5 | Prep Time: 5 min. | Cooking Time: 15 min.

 Ingredients:

• Tomatoes – 3 large (I mostly use green tomatoes if available)
• Onion – Small (About ½ cup - Finely chopped)
• Garlic – 4 Cloves (minced)
• Canned Tomatoes with Jalapeno  – 1 can (I use Ro*tel brand Hot ones)
• Butter - 2 tbsp.
• Parmesan cheese – 4 tbsp.
• Basil – 2 tsp. (I use dry flakes, but if you have fresh, YUMMY)
• Oregano – ½ tsp.
• Olive Oil – 1 tsp.
• Salt - to taste
• Pepper – ½ tsp. (Add if NOT using Jalapenos. I didn’t use any.)
• Parmesan cheese - to garnish

Method of Preparation:

~ Clean and cut chunks of tomatoes. Place them in a microwave safe bowl and microwave high for 5 minutes.
~ Meanwhile heat oil in a pan and add onions. Sauté them until translucent.
~ Add garlic, canned tomatoes and fry for another minute and take it out from heat.
~ Blend this onion with cooked tomatoes to make a smooth paste.
~ In the same pan that you sautéed onions, add butter and ground paste and bring it to boil.
~ Add basil, oregano and salt. Simmer for another 3 minutes.
~ Switch off the heat and add parmesan cheese and give it a nice stir.

To serve it -   

~ Cook ravioli according to the instructions, in boiled water.
~ Drain the water, place them in serving dish and top it with sauce.
~ Alternatively, keep them separately, like I usually do, so you can choose how much sauce you want on the ravioli.

 Sending this to Anu's LGSS- Tomato event started by Vatsala, Kalyani's 100-day Global food festival