Chicken Parmesan Ravioli Filling

People have been after me for years for this recipe, especially a few close friends of mine who crave good Italian food. Now, this doesn't include the recipe for the pasta itself, but just the filling. This isn't hard to make at all. So, sit back, read, make some notes, and let me tell you how it's done.

4-6 Chicken Breasts
1 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 Cup Shredded Asiago Cheese
1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1 1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Spinach
1 TBSP Finely Chopped Garlic
1 TBSP Minced Onion
2 TBSP Mushroom Juice (Obtained from canned mushrooms)
2 TBSP Heavy Cream
1 TBSP Butter
1 TSP Basil
1 TBSP Olive Oil

1: Cook your chicken breasts, garlic, and onions in the olive oil until done, and shred the chicken into small 1-inch strips once they are cooled enough to touch. Place the shredded chicken into a mixing bowl and set aside for now. Allow the onions and garlic to remain in the pan, as you will be using the same pan for later.

2: In the same pan you cooked the chicken, add the mushroom juice, heavy cream, butter, and basil. Heat until the butter is melted and the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat.

3: Add the mixture from the pan to the shredded chicken breasts in the mixing bowl while the liquid is still hot. Toss in the spinach, parmesan, and asiago cheeses. Using a wooden spoon, combine the ingredients carefully.

4: Once the ingredients are well mixed, add in the ricotta cheese and stir it into the filling mixture.

5: Use a small spoon to form balls with the filling. Place each ball onto a sheet of prepared ravioli pasta dough, and shape the ravioli as desired.

6: With ravioli filled and formed, cook, serve, and enjoy.

I would pair this meal with your favorite red wine, or in my case, a nice glass of spiced mead. This is a recipe that is frustrating at first, but I can promise you, once you have done this a few times, it will become natural. I have yet to try this as baked or fried ravioli, so if you wish to give it a spin, let me know how it turns out. If you are wondering, when I make this I take the mushrooms from the can and add them into the sauce, or I seal them up and use them for a sauté later.

With future additions to this blog, I will add the pasta recipe, and even the red wine-based sauce recipe I use, but a good cook never gives out all his secrets at once.

~bon appétit~