A Review of La Piana Ravioli with Squash Filling

I know Ravioli like the back of my hand. My grandfather was an Italian chef at some of the finest hotels in Chicago back in the 1930s-50s. He specialized in homemade ravioli. For the holidays or a special occasion I have memories of him making hundreds of ravioli for one of our large family gatherings and laying them on the beds in the extra bedrooms to dry. So when I tastedLa Piana Ravioli with squash filling I was thrilled with the fresh homemade taste. My first impression was "that's Italian!" The product is called La Piana Ravioli with a squash filling. They are mini ravioli about the size of a half inch when dry. La Piana is a third generation family run business in Milan, Italy that makes these delicious gourmet ravioli. The ravioli are all natural and have no preservatives. They are produced and packed in Italy for the Italian Foods Corp Italian Food Corps is located in Oakland, California and distributes a vast amount of Italian food imports across the nation from sauces to pasta to olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

You will appreciate the delicate taste of squash that will come off almost like a nutty comforting flavor. It will accent any dish that calls for pasta and have your guests wondering how you became so gourmet-like in your presentation.

In a one pound package you get eight servings. I bought this at the World Market Store for $3.45. World Market has a variety of imported foods and wines including other products across the world. There are 299 World Market stores in the United States. You can locate a World Market store nearby you by putting in your city and state at their website:

However, if you do not have a World Market you can buy them online from the Italian Foods Corp for $5.99. As you can see, it's cheaper to buy at a local World Market Stores plus you don't have to pay for shipping.

Here are some ideas on how you can use La Piana Ravioli with Squash filling in some of your dinners:

You can make a simple Alfredo sauce with or without chicken or shrimp for a whole meal or use it for a side dish.

You can add this to a boring tuna casserole and everyone will go "Wow!"

You can make a pasta salad with this by adding a variety of vegetables or leftover turkey. I took a variety of beans, some red onions, red pepper, celery, and made my own red wine vinegar dressing and sprinkled feta cheese on it. It was a hit with my guests!

Instead of macaroni and cheese try ravioli with squash filling and cheese.

It's a great finger food for the toddler in your house.

There is a recipe from the chefs of Italian Food Corps forSquash Filled Ravioli with Cream and Poppy Seed Sauce that sounds wonderful. However, I haven't personally tried it but plan to soon.

On the Italian Food Corps website, you will see other mini ravioli like:
Pecorino and potato filling
Mezzaluna with Gorgonzola filling
Mezzaluna with Pesto filling

They also have tortellini with:

Cheese filling
Eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper filling (this I am going to try next)
Sun dried tomato and oregano filling

Once when my aunt tried to duplicate my grandfather's ravioli and served it to him, he threw it up in the air like a baseball and swatted it. He never liked any competition. If my grandfather was alive today, and he tried La Piana ravioli, he would not say this was great ravioli because no one made them better than he. That was the ego in him which is typical in a chef. However, I know I would be able to read in his face that it came pretty darn close to his. Well, at least I'm sure he would not swat it like a baseball and that is a compliment to the chef!