The following two recipes were also created last autumn. And, as well-known to everybody, autumn is the season for sofa evenings and soulfood! For me, soulfood no. 1 has always been pasta. Today I show you two different variants of autumn pasta with Giovanni Rana Pasta.
About Giovanni Rana Pasta
The name for the pasta was given by its inventor: the Italian Giovanni Rana. In the early sixties he started to produce tortellini at a small place near Verona. He prepared all the components himself – from the self-kneaded pasta dough to the fresh stuffing – and delivered it with his motorcycle to households who pre-ordered the tortellini. The demand was so fast that he initially had to hire more staff – his sister and four friends – before switching to automated tortellini production at the end of the 1960s. Giovanni Rana himself has been working on the existing machines to optimize the production volume and especially the quality of the pasta. In the 80s, the relocation came and thanks to the constant efforts of Rana, the industrial pasta in appearance and taste of hand-made in no way inferior, the Giovanni Rana Pasta became the Italian market leader. Since 2000, Gian Luca Rana has been involved in the international opening of the pasta business. In addition to Europe, Giovanni Rana has meanwhile been able to expand into the USA and there also has his own production site in Illinois. Currently, Giovanni Rana is the world leader in fresh pasta and also in Germany his fresh pasta is the best-selling.
What’s so special about Giovanni Rana Pasta?
The recipe of Giovanni Rana Pasta has recently been improved again! For the filling of the tortellini, the original, fresh ingredients are only roughly chopped. Therefore, the texture and taste of the high quality products used can still be felt and tasted. Luckily, I was able to convince myself about that before the release date of the new pasta due to an invitation to a Giovanni Rana event in Munich. During a delicious lunch, the new Giovanni Rana Pasta was prepared for us by the chefs brought specially from Italy. And guys, I was pretty much in what I consider as pasta heaven! Fortunately, the new pasta is now available in the stores. There are currently six different variations available: Ricotta & Spinaci, Pesto-Basilico & Pinoli, Funghi Porcini, Pomodoro & Mozzarella, 4 Formaggi and Bolognese.
Another special feature of Rana-Tortellini are the ingredients used. The cheese or ham are not getting delivered already diced or processed in any form, as the processing of the used ingredients takes place only in the pasta factory itself! Consequently, a large number of huge cheese wheels or ham legs arrive at the pasta factory. For us, the ingredients used were delivered directly from Italy to Munich and convinced us of the quality of the ingredients used.
Fast and delicious recipes with Giovanni Rana Pasta:
And now I have two recipes for fast Giovanni Rana pasta for you!
Autumn pasta with pumpkin
Shopping list for 2:
250 g (1 package) Giovanni Rana Tortelloni Pesto-Basilico & Pinoli or Funghi Porcini
1 tbsp butter
1 small Hokkaido pumpkin
thyme
pumpkin seeds
Preparation:
- Cut the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds with a spoon and then dice into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat the butter in the pan and sprinkle with thyme.
- Add the pumpkin and leave to stew.
- Cook the tortelloni in boiling salted water for two minutes.
- Put the prepared tortelloni into the pan with about 2 tablespoons of pasta water.
- Serve sprinkled with pumpkin seeds.
Pasta With Spinach
Shopping list for 2:
250 g (1 package) Giovanni Rana Tortelloni Ricotta & Spinaci
2 tablespoons butter
100 g leaf spinach
50 g of Parmesan
sage
Preparation:
- Heat the butter in the pan and add sage.
- Cook the Giovanni Rana Tortelloni Ricotta & Spinaci for 2 minutes in plenty of salted water.
- Tortelloni with about 2 tablespoons of pasta water in the pan and stir.
- Finally, mix in the fresh spinach and half of the Parmesan.
- Roast remaining, grated Parmesan in a second coated pan to obtain crispy flakes.
- Put the pasta on the plates and arrange with the crispy Parmesan leaves.
Which Soulfood marks your farewell to the summer?
The pasta was provided to me free of charge by Giovanni Rana. Thank you very much! The two recipes are modifications of received press material. Opinions, pictures and other texts are – as always – my own.
