Cheapeats, Inc. Blog

Cheapeats was privileged to be a taste tester for the new Pasta Riserva from Buitoni. A free sample of pasta? Sign me up. My choice? Chicken & Mushroom Ravioli with Marsala Sauce.

These new entrees are meant to be dinner for 2. Really? I’m a bad judge for portion controls because Italians never think they have enough food. I read through the directions. Put the sauce pouch in pot of water to heat through. After water comes to boil, pull out and drop the ravioli into the pot for a few minutes until cooked. Sounds easy enough.

Drain the ravioli and pour the sauce over and mix. Looks good. Darn, I think I overcooked the pasta. So much for multi-tasking. First bite…not bad but missing something. A little black pepper, a little salt, grated pecorino romano and chopped parsley. Much better.

The Marsala sauce actually isn’t bad. A little bland but overall good. The chicken filling is finely chopped. I personally love contrast of textures and wish the pieces were larger.  And yes, this is enough for two.

I will say that it was much better as a leftover. The sauce by then was fully absorbed into the pasta and the texture wasn’t as mushy as the first time around.

 My verdict – Not Bad. I’m not a big fan of frozen entrees but with a few fresh ingredients, you can brighten it up. They’re priced between $10 – $13 depending upon your grocer. Buon Appetito.

Happiness, $25 and under.

Tags: Buitoni, cheapeats, Chicken Marsala, Foodbuzz, Italian, Pasta Riserva, Ravioli

This entry was posted by Rosemarie on Thursday, June 24th, 2010 at 9:28 am and is filed under Italian, Manhattan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.