Ravioli in Lemon Vodka Sauce

Serves 2.

Time requirement: About 15 minutes.

What you will need:

12 ounces of fresh cheese ravioli.

1 lemon.

1½ ounce salted butter.

1 tablespoon kosher salt.

2 tablespoons vodka.

A small amount of chopped parsley as a garnish.

Salt and fresh pepper to grind.

Preparation:

Wash the lemon. Scrub it well in case the skin was coated with wax or another treatment.

With a vegetable peel, peel three strips from the lemon, each about the size of your index finger, and each without any white pith. Stack the peels and slice them into them spears. Set aside.

Squeeze the lemon to procure ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (filtered without seed or pulp). Set aside.

Cut the butter into small pats, 8-12. Set aside. (Use a good quality European style butter. It is the base of the sauce.)

Bring three quarts water to a boil with 1 tablespoon of salt. Boil the lemon peel spears for three minutes, collect them with a fine sieve. Set aside.

Pour the ravioli into the boil water in which you cooked the lemon. And cook them according to the package directions.

While the ravioli cooks, heat the vodka, lemon peel, and lemon juice in a 10-inch fry. Cook it at a low simmer for half the time it takes to cook the ravioli, but do not let it reduce by more than half. When the ravioli is at its half-way mark, add the butter pats to the pan. Take the pan off the heat. Using a whisk, swirl the butter into the liquid in the pan. It will come together in a sauce.

Drain the ravioli and it and the parsley to the frypan. Toss the ravioli in the lemon sauce. That’s it.

Serve in warm bowls. Season with salt and ground pepper to taste at the table.