Ingredients

• 9 ounces crab ravioli (or other seafood stuffed pasta)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 4-gram packet of squid ink
• Tarragon leaves for garnish
• Parmesan to taste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

Cook the ravioli in boiling salted water until they float to the top.  Drain gently.

Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, melt the butter on medium to medium-high heat. Keep cooking it until it first foams, and then begins to take on a golden-brown hue. Take it off the heat to prevent the butter from burning, and stir in the squid ink. Add in the cooked ravioli, and a touch of the ravioli cooking water, salt (go lightly), and pepper, and toss gently. Place in a serving bowl, top with freshly torn tarragon leaves and grated Parmesan, and dive in.

Note

In France, black butter, a kind of burnt butter sauce, was made illegal because of its negative health effects. So I toss crab-filled ravioli with a brown butter sauce stained black with ink. It is delicious topped with ripped shards of fresh tarragon and curls of the best Parmesan cheese. Very Venetian.