This post is Avi’s. I am writing it and took the photos, but other than that, it’s all his. He came up with the idea, created the recipe and made the dish. And how yummy that was! This is one of two recipes (and counting ) he came up with lately, I hope we make the other one soon, and if it turns out to be a keeper as well - we’ll be sure to post about it.

That being said, this post is a part of the Presto Pasta Night blog event - it’s a weekly event, hosted by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast, and it’s all dedicated to pasta recipes. How cool is that? (Those of you who visit here often already know that Italian food is my favorite, but I bet you didn’t know that one of my best friends calls me “Paaaaasta”, because I always say this word with a mellow-and-totally-in-love-tone).

A couple of weeks ago, I don’t remember exactly when and how, Avi came to me with the idea of making a cream and raisins pasta sauce. The only other sweet-ish pasta sauce I’ve ever tasted was a divine one (at a restaurant named Divina, imagine that ), it was a cream based sauce with a touch of orange. Yum! So Avi’s idea reminded me of exactly that sauce, and evidently his idea sounded awesome.

Last Saturday he got around to making it. He used onion and garlic in his recipe, which I thought wouldn’t accompany the raisins very well, but it turned out that the man knew what he was doing! He also added a touch of lemon to the sauce, which was subtle but at the same time gave it a great taste-hint and aroma. All in all it turned out to be a great sauce, the light sweetness of the raisins is a great match to cream based pasta sauce, and it also was a great match to the goat cheese filled ravioli that it was wrapped aound.

I’ve filed this post under both Main Courses and First Courses, since in Italy pasta is usually a first course, whereas for Avi and me (and for many restaurants here in Israel), it’s definitely a main course.

Cream and raisins pasta sauce / Avi Revivo
Makes 2 portions

Ingredients:
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250 ml cream (we used 15% fat)
1/2 - 3/4 cup raisins (we used mixed - dark and light)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
5 Tbsp white wine
salt, pepper
milk, for thinning the sauce if necessary

Directions:
1. Fry the onion until brown and caramelized.
2. Add the garlic and fry for 1/2 min.
3. Add the white wine, stir well and cook until partially evaporized.
4. Add the cream, lemon juice, the raisins and salt and pepper according to your taste. Stir well and cook for about 15 mins. If during the process the sauce gets too thick, add a little milk to it and stir well. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

רוטב שמנת וצימוקים לפסטה / אבי רביבו
עבור 2 מנות

רכיבים:
2 בצלים קטנים, קצוצים דק
2 שיני שום כתושות
250 מ”ל שמנת (אנחנו השתמשנו ב - 15% שומן)
1/2 - 3/4 כוס צימוקים (בהירים וכהים, מומלץ לשים כמות גדולה יותר של בהירים)
2 כפות מיץ לימון סחוט טרי
5 כפות יין לבן
מלח, פלפל
חלב, לדילול הרוטב במקרה הצורך

הכנה:
1. מטגנים את הבצל עד השחמה וקרמול.
2. מוספים את השום ומטגנים כחצי דקה.
3. מוסיפים את היין הלבן, מערבבים היטב ומבשלים עד לאידוי חלקי.
4. מוסיפים את השמנת, מיץ הלימון, הצימוקים, ומלח ופלפל לפי הטעם. מערבבים היטב ומבשלים כ - 15 דקות. אם במהלך זמן הבישול הרוטב הופך סמיך מדי, מדללים עם מעט חלב עד שמגיעים למרקם הרצוי, מערבבים היטב. מומלץ להגיש בליווי גבינת פרמזן מגוררת.

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