Valentine's Day

Here’s What Giada De Laurentiis Makes Every Year for Valentine’s Day

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(Image credit: Kathy Hutchins)

Giada De Laurentiis loves foods that make holidays special. Every year at Christmas she makes the same Italian struffoli she learned to make as a child. And in a recent interview with Wonderwall, De Laurentiis revealed that she always makes the same Valentine’s Day meal every year: heart-shaped ravioli.

De Laurentiis is a master of Italian cooking. In fact, she was the go-to expert Prince William called when he tried to make lasagna to impress Kate Middleton and failed royally. But she says she does not regularly make ravioli at home. Keeping it as a Valentine’s Day tradition makes it even more special than if it were an everyday occurrence.

De Laurentiis’ heart-shaped ravioli are easier than they sound, too. She told Wonderwall that she buys wonton wrappers so she doesn’t have to make the pasta dough from scratch. Then she fills them with a mixture of cheese — usually ricotta and mozzarella. (De Laurentiis would recommend putting herbs or spinach in as well, but she leaves them out when she makes them because her 9-year-old daughter, Jade, does not like green things in her ravioli.) Then you just press them together!

Giada says she serves the ravioli in a plain tomato-basil sauce. She puts the sauce on the plate first, then places the ravioli on top of it, so the heart shape is more obvious.

“I think of Valentine’s and romance, I think of ravioli,” she told Wonderwall. “To me, they’re light, but they’re sexy and very romantic. But the wonton wrappers make them super simple.”

She also follows the ravioli with something chocolate, and thanks to her Twitter account we also know what Giada is having for dessert. She Tweeted a photo of her “better for you” peanut butter espresso brownies.

“Can you guess the secret ingredient?” she asked.

“The secret ingredient is love!” several fans guessed. But the secret ingredient is actually black beans.

What will you do for Valentine’s Day?