Gettin' Saucy

So I have been thinking a lot about ravioli lately and how I have a ravioli press and never use it. During this period of thinking, I came to the conclusion that chicken and olives would be a fab combo inside a little pasta pocket.. but what sauce to top it with?? So I pondered, googled, emailed my posse and came up with 3 very different yet interesting options. Then I shopped, chopped, simmered and taste-tested and here my friends are the results for any of you out there who also feel that the question of sauce is a pressing dilemma.

First of for the ravioli, I coated 2 chicken with the juice of 2 lemons and some pepper covered it in foil and baked it in the oven til tender and done. Then I carmelized 3 small onions and chopped 3/4 cup of green olives, chopped the chicken and combined the ingredients. For the pasta, I mixed 2 cups of flour, 5 egg yolks, 1 1/2 Tbl olive oil and 6 TBl of water into a nice little dough. Then rolled it out with my pasta maker. Unfortunatley my ravioli presser was too small to handle such a thick filling so I formed them by hand which was a little tricky. Then boiled them in salted water for 3-4 minutes.
Now for the sauce..

Lemon Caper SauceThis recipe was inspired by Hannah's Chicken Picatta Pasta posted a few months ago and all I can say is thank you Hannah for introducing me to the magic of capers.
Saute 3 cloves of garlic and 1 shallot in a Tbl of butter. Add 1 cup of white wine, juice of half a lemon, 1 Tbl capers. Simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced.

This was a very tasty and easy sauce to prepare, however with the ravioli it overwhelmed the flavor of the chicken and olive ravioli. Allison said it felt like the flavors were fighting in her mouth, battling to be noticed. We came to the decision that it would be really delicious over just regular pasta maybe with some shrimp or fish. It would also be delicious to just pour over fish to bake or cook.

Puttanesca Sauce
When I surveyed my cook friends about what sauce to make for these fab ravs, Allison promptly responded with Puttanesca which I never in a million years would have thought of but let me tell ya it was grand.
Cook 4 cloves of garlic in olive for a few minutes. Add some anchovies. I put in about 6 because I wanted to have that great flavor but I may have over done it.. so maybe less. Cook for 3 minutes. Add 1 and 1/2 large cans of whole tomatoes. I used the ones with garlic and basil for added flava flav. Add 2-3 Tbl of capers (cuz they're AMMAZING!!), 1 Tbl dried basil (fresh if you've got it), handful of fresh chopped parsley, and some pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives. Simmer some more.

Again this sauce was amazing but the flavors just overwhelmed and we felt this would be great with strictly pasta but it didn't compliment the ravioli the way we wanted it to.

Spiced Tomato-Date SauceThis sauce was also inspired by another hot dish favorite, Megan's Date Me a Chicken. Now I immediately thought of date when I thought Chicken and Olives because of this dish and because I'm obsessed with dates. . not as obsessed as I am with capers but close.. actually maybe the same but in different ways... and actually as I write this I realize I probably should have added bacon to the raviolis to make them pair better with dates... but that's another story and another day.

Start by simmering 2 shallots and 2 cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add 6 dates chopped up. Cook til dates are soften. Add half a can of chopped or crushed tomatoes. I put in a little chili de arbol because I had it but you could easily through in a pinch of cayenne for the spice to this sauce. Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp coriander, and 1 tsp cumin. Cook down until it has thickened a bit and smells like a dream.

What can I say, Winner winner chicken olive ravioli dinner! This sauce not only was more delcious than expected but it mingled and complimented the ravioli bringing out a myriad of flavors dancing on my tongue. Hands down when I went to top my last ravioli, I chose this for seconds.
So there you have it the sauce competition of a lifetime. Maybe I need a life or maybe I'm living everyone's dream life.