Specially Selected Pumpkin Ravioli - Aldi

Specially Selected Pumpkin Ravioli - Aldi

Is that fresh basil from my surprisingly not-dead herb garden? Why yes, yes it is! We're getting fancy with our plating today on Sometimes Foodie!

So for the first time in the 4+ years of me running this blog...I either forgot to photograph the packaging, or somehow lost the files. So...there's no official Sometimes Foodie package photos for this post, but it looked just like this one: 

Only pumpkin themed. If you want the nutritional information, I found this handy dandy link, but I really don't know what happened. I had TWO packages of this stuff and I somehow either didn't remember to photograph them, or misplaced that memory card somewhere. It's so frustrating! I can't believe I did that, especially when I put so much effort into making these nice plating shots, but the review must go on!

The Aldi packaging was pretty similar to the Trader Joe's version I reviewed last year, and I'm 95% sure this is the same exact product. Trader Joe's and Aldi are "sister supermarkets" and recently I've been seeing a lot of products in both stores that look surprisingly similar. In this case, the Trader Joe's version is 2-toned with each side of the ravioli being a different color, but the Aldi version is speckled. I imagine they used the scraps of the dough from the fancier Trader Joe's 2-toned ravioli to make these cheaper speckled Aldi ones, but I don't have any proof. Even if they are made with remnant dough, who cares? It's still the same thing, and I actually think these speckles are way more appealing than the solid 2-toned ones.

Unlike frozen ravioli, these are partially cooked and refrigerated, so they cook up insanely fast, which is great for a lazy weeknight dinner. (Which this was.) Alone, the ravioli filling tastes a lot like a normal cheese ravioli, with a hint of squashy-pumpkin. It's a bit on the sweet side of things, but not as sweet as the frozen pumpkin Aldi ravioli they had a few years ago. I like them well enough on their own, but they definitely need some kind of sauce or topping to make them more savory.  

Some of you might look at this and say, "But Maria, you're allergic to tomatoes. Why would you do this to yourself? Won't you get sick?" The answer? Aesthetic. Ha, no. The serious answer is that I do like tomatoes and the taste of tomato sauce, but it does make me sick. So am I tempting fate with this dish? A little bit, but I really really wanted to pair tomato sauce with these, so hopefully it'll be delicious and well worth the nausea.

I took a bite, and it was awesome. The tangy tomato sauce and hint of garlic made this way more savory, but you could still detect a hint of the nutty pumpkin filling. It's been a year since I've had the Trader Joe's version, but from what I remember, these taste the same. They've gotta be the same product!

On a Pumpkin Scale of 1-5 (5 being the most pumpkin-y) I’d give this a 4! Which is exactly what I gave the Trader Joe's version last year. These are really enjoyable, savory, and they look super fancy. Plus, they cook up easy too! If you want a lazy dinner, but still want to impress someone, I'd definitely recommend these. 

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net
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