JUMBO SAUSAGE RAVIOLI WITH CREAMY MARINARA SAUCE

Filed under Main Dishes
Ingredients
24 Barilla oven ready lasagna noodles (about 2 boxes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 pound mild Italian sausage
1 egg, beaten
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend, divided
3 tablespoons sour cream
3 tablespoons seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups marinara sauce (jarred or homemade)
1 1/2 cups half and half

Directions
Fill a large glass baking dish with hot water and a few drops of olive oil.  Lay lasagna noodles in hot water and set aside; check noodles occasionally and separate to prevent sticking (I put in a few extra in case any tear).  Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Saute garlic and fennel seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Remove sausage from casings and crumble into pan.  Cook sausage until no longer pink, breaking up as finely as possible during cooking; drain.  In a medium bowl, combine beaten egg, ricotta, 1 cup shredded Italian cheese, sour cream, bread crumbs, basil, and oregano.  Stir in cooked sausage.  Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  To make the sauce, combine the marinara sauce with the half and half in a medium bowl.  Mix well.  Grease two 9x13 glass baking dishes and cover the bottom of each dish with a thin layer of sauce.

After about 20 minutes, remove the lasagna noodles from water and layer them between paper towels.  Working with 2 noodles at a time, place one noodle on top of the other to form a plus sign (it should look like the intersection of two roads).  Place about 2 tablespoons of the sausage mixture in the center of the noodles.  Grab the edges of the bottom noodle and fold them into the center, over the filling, so they overlap slightly, pressing the filling down slightly as you do so.  Fold in the edges of the remaining noodle to form a square pouch.  Place the ravioli seem side down into the prepared baking dishes (6 ravioli per dish). When all of the ravioli are completed, cover them with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese.

Cover with foil and bake in the preheated over for about 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes more or until cheese is browned and sauce is bubbly.

Let's Dish
I'm so excited about this recipe, I'm posting it the very night I made it!  Everyone in my family cleaned their plates.  My friend Elaine shared this idea with me and I couldn't wait to try it.   You could do this with any kind of ravioli filling and sauce, but this sausage version was amazing!  The secret ingredient is the fennel seed--don't leave it out.  Don't be scared by the long list of ingredients and the lengthy instructions.  Once you get the idea, these are really quite simple, yet very impressive looking.  I do recommend using the Barilla brand of oven ready noodles because they are perfectly flat, with no ridges or fancy edges.  I'm already dreaming about all the other versions of giant ravioli I could make using this technique.

Who Dished It Up First
This is an original recipe, inspired by my good friend Elaine.  She's a genius!