For the Tomato and Buffalo Chicken Sauce:
- Make the meat sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Add the ground chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, breaking up the lumps as you go, until the chicken is just cooked. Pour in the tomato pasta sauce, buffalo hot sauce, and add the kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, ground cayenne, crushed red pepper chili flakes, garlic powder, Tabasco® Brand Buffalo Style Hot Sauce (if using). Stir to combine everything, then give the sauce a taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Simmer while stirring occasionally for about a minute, then switch off the heat and set aside.
For the Ricotta Basil Mixture:
- Make the Ricotta Basil Mixture: Combine the ricotta cheese, egg, chopped basil, and freshly cracked black pepper in a medium sized bowl. Mix until evenly combined, then set aside.
To Assemble the Buffalo Chicken Ravioli:
- Prep: Preheat oven to 175°C/350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with ½ tablespoon of olive oil (or spray with cooking spray).
- Assemble layers: Spread 1/3 of the tomato and buffalo chicken sauce in the bottom of the dish. Then layer half of the ravioli in a single layer. Top with half of the remaining meat sauce, half of the ricotta basil mixture, half of the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and half of the mozzarella cheese. Then repeat all the layers – the remaining ravioli, meat sauce, ricotta basil mixture, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake: Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is golden and bubbly. If you like crispy and bubbly brown cheese, increase the temperature to 250°C/482°F and bake for an additional 5 minutes. (You can turn on the broil setting if your oven has one, but keep an eye on the dish so that the cheese doesn’t get too brown and burn). Transfer the dish to a cooling rack and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- To Serve: Garnish with chopped fresh Italian basil and serve!