Pasta Prima Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli With A Spicy Italian Brats Tomato Sauce

My wife and I are very fond of the Pasta Prima raviolis that we get at Costco. We had some of the fresh Chicken and Mozzarella variety in the fridge and it was calling to me. Given the more subdued flavors of the ravioli, I thought a sauce with a little excitement to it would be fun.  My wife agreed and after gathering all the elements for the sauce that we had on hand, I finished the provisioning by getting some spicy Italian brats from  a local meat shop, Montello's. The ingredient list this dish was pretty simple:

• EVOO
• 2 cloves garlic; peeled, pressed and chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
• Crushed red pepper
• 1 pound Italian brats, casings removed
• 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• Fresh herbs: parsley, oregano and thyme

While my lovely wife removed the casings from the sausage, I sauteed the onion, garlic and crushed red pepper. Then we added the brats and I broke them up with a spoon as I cooked them.  After the brats were cooked, the tomatoes were added and I let it come to temperature and cook a bit as my wife got the fresh herbs.  The herbs were added just moments before serving and then we garnished our portions as we saw fit with grated cheese.

As you can see, it was a pretty dish and it went together in minutes.  As for the taste, it was excellent. My wife and I both commented that Italian brats were a lower fat alternative to typical Italian sausage, although I do think standard pork sausage would still work very well in this dish.

As we hoped, the sausage and the red pepper added some zing to the dish without making it just flavorless heat and spice.  The tomato and onion helped to add at least some vegetable, so you really have a good variety of meat, dairy, pasta and vegetables in this dish, making it a true one dish meal.

This was absolutely a home run: delicious, easy, affordable and quick.  I am sure we will be doing something very similar to this again.