Shop-bought ravioli and tortelloni are staples in my kitchen – I’ve even been known (with some chutzpah) to serve bowls of the stuff to friends, including well-known food writers, albeit improved with brown butter, crisp sage and hazelnuts, or in my signature ravioli lasagne.
In an ideal packet, I’m looking for a well-seasoned filling, nice and light from the ricotta, and not too processed or stodgy in texture. Similarly, the pasta shouldn’t taste plasticky; the closer it is to homemade, the better.
I tested all these tortelloni with unsalted butter, side by side in batches, to give an accurate comparison of the seasoning. Almost all of them benefited from a couple of minutes less than the recommended cooking time when tested a second time.
***
Best all-rounder:
M&S spinach & ricotta tortelloni
A really well-seasoned filling, with great texture and flavour. The pasta is nice and firm as well. I’d happily eat these with just unsalted butter, and they’d be fabulous with buttery roast squash.
***
Best bargain:
Asda spinach & ricotta tortelloni
£2 for 300g at Asda
★★★★☆
A really flavourful filling: beautifully seasoned, and with a pleasant texture – it’s not at all claggy. The pasta has a fine texture, too. I’d be happy to eat these with brown butter and sage.
***
Best splurge:
La Famiglia Rana spinach & ricotta tortelloni
£3 for 250g at Sainsbury’s
£3 for 250g at Tesco
★★★★★
I should admit that this is the brand we buy because it’s my husband’s favourite, and I can now see why. The filling is really well-seasoned and pleasantly non-homogeneous – you can actually see bits of spinach, so it feels as if it has been chopped rather than over-processed. The pasta has a good texture, too. I would eat these with just unsalted butter or olive oil.
***
And the rest …
Morrisons spinach & ricotta tortelloni
£2.25 for 300g at Morrisons
£2.35 for 300g at Amazon
★★★☆☆
Many of the tortelloni in my test packet have pasta so thin that the filling is visible, and it then spills out during the cooking, but that might be just this batch. Otherwise, they’re well-seasoned and not stodgy, with a nice, light texture. The pasta tastes a little mass-produced, but it’s basically fine. Would need little more than butter and cheese to dress them.
***
Waitrose Essential spinach & ricotta tortelloni
£2.20 for 300g at Waitrose
★★★☆☆
The pasta has a good texture, but the filling is under-seasoned, though it is nice and robust. I like that you can taste the nutmeg, but if you’re not a fan of the stuff, it may be overpowering. A decent all-rounder if you add salt.
***
Dell’Ugo spinach & ricotta tortelloni
The filling is a bit mushy and doesn’t have much by way of a discernible flavour; it’s underseasoned, too. Would be just about OK in a ravioli lasagne or highly seasoned sauce, but not by themselves.
***
Aldi Cucina spinach & ricotta tortelloni
Slightly stodgy filling, but not too badly seasoned. The pasta is a little chewy, but these would be fine in a tomato sauce.
***
Tesco spinach & ricotta tortelloni
The filling is a little underseasoned, but the texture of the pasta and filling are not too bad. They’d be OK in a ravioli lasagne, though.
***
Sainsbury’s spinach & ricotta tortelloni
£2 for 300g at Sainsbury’s
★★☆☆☆
Well-seasoned, but not overly generous with the filling, and a little stodgy, too. Would be fine with tomato sauce or pesto.
***
Co-op spinach & ricotta tortelloni
These have a very homogeneous filling and a not particularly pleasant flavour. The pasta is slightly plasticky in texture, too. Would avoid.
