While I can’t give up my family’s most prized recipe, this is a version of it I would like to share with y’all. If you’ve never heard the story of how my cooking career got started, this recipe had a lot to do with it. I’d like to share that with y’all too! Years ago, in my late 20’s - before I ever cooked a thing - my grandmother gave me the family heirloom cookbook with recipes passed from so many generations back, some recipes in this book are from the late 1800’s. One of those recipes is called Holiday Ravioli and we had it at Christmas every year. This ravioli was beyond… when I say the best ravioli ever, I mean the BEST EVER. I always looked forward to it every Christmas. When she gave me the cookbook, I hadn’t been to her house for Christmas in a few years, so I wanted to make that ravioli so bad. I literally couldn’t wait to eat it again. I had never really cooked anything aside from grilling chicken and throwing a few veggies in the oven, and this recipe was not an easy one. Everything is made from scratch - from the pasta dough, to the filling, to the sauce. I decided to just go for it. Well of course, I had nothing I needed in the kitchen to make this dish, including a rolling pin. I ended up using a wine bottle to roll the pasta dough out - because we always had a wine and it was the closest thing I had to a rolling pin - haha! This ravioli dish came together so effortlessly for someone who never spent time in the kitchen, and the finished product was just delicious! I couldn’t believe I pulled it off, and that’s when the cooking bug bit me. I fell in love with being in the kitchen after making this recipe, and soon after, cooking became my life! My very first pasta dough, rolled out with a wine bottle, and to this day, homemade pasta is my favorite dish to make! This dish is a simplified version of it you can pull together at the last minute. You don’t have to homemake the ravioli (unless you want to) and the sauce cooks in a slow cooker or a instant pot and in a snap, it’s done!
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (2 - 3 lb) boneless chuck pot roast
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 pound sliced mushrooms
1 (28 oz) can San Marzano peeled tomatoes - crushed by hand
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
6 garlic cloves - minced
1 cup chopped basil
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1 bay leaf
1.5 to 2 pounds frozen ravioli- spinach and cheese preferably or whatever kind you like
Heat olive oil in a large pot or sauté pan over medium high heat. Generously salt and pepper all sides of the roast - about 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons pepper. Place the roast in the pot and brown on all sides. Transfer the meat and all the liquid from the pot to a slow cooker or instant pot and add the mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, basil, parsley, and bay leaf. If using a slow cooker, cook for 4 hours on high heat or 8 hours on low heat - or until roast is completely broken down. If using an instant pot, cook on the high setting for about one hour or until roast is completely broken down (all instant pots are different so use the setting that makes the most sense). When finished cooking, use a fork to shred the meat right inside the sauce. Stir together until combined. Taste and add more salt if needed. Boil ravioli according to package directions. Top with all the meat sauce and serve warm.