Fried Ravioli

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy

I'm not feeling 100% today and I decided that I wanted to make some food that A) is easy to make and B) can be handled without passing any germs onto my bf.  Neither of us can be sick right now due to work (it's one of those crucial times for both of us) so I have to take precautions to contain anything even dancing on the precipice of illness.

So what better way to guarantee bacteria and germs are warded off?  Deep frying.  It kills everything. 

I chose to make a favorite dish that I have never made before: "Fried Ravs", as we used to say in our restaurants.  So easy that I should make these all the time.

Ingredients:

oil (canola, vegetable, etc...NOT olive oil)

1 cup buttermilk *see my cheat

2 cups Italian-style breadcrumbs  **I don't have anby so I "made" some.
24 store-bought cheese ravioli

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 jar store bought marinara heated (no need for forgiveness, ma, I have some leftover home-made)

Either fill you deep fryer with new or reserved oil (I've mentioned before that I keep oils as long as they are re-usable: oil for fish for example should be used for fried chicken) or enough in a deep skillet to be 2" deep.  Heat it until it is 325°

While he oil heats, put the buttermilk mixture in one bowl and the breadcrumbs in another.  Dip each ravioli in the buttermilk and toss in the breadcrumbs to cover.  Make sure to allow your buttermilk to drip off, otherwise it will make your breadcrumbs clump and will make it harder to coat the ravioli as you go along.  Place your ravioli on a baking sheet.

When the oil is heated, fry the ravioli in batches (turning occasionally if using a pan) until they are golden.  Allow the oil to drip off when you remove your basket (for a deep fryer) or use a slotted spoon if using a pan and lie the ravioli on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.  Sprinkle with some grated cheese and serve with warm marinara and crunchy bread or my Prosciutto Bruschetta.

Notes: 

So easy and so good.

So unhealthy, even if I had used my home-made whole wheat breadcrumbs, but did I mention how good they are?

Does anyone else find it weird that I live in NYC and don;t have a cooling rack or room for a lot of pots but I have a deep fryer??

**I only had plain breadcrumbs from my clams francaise recipe, so I made them into Italian by adding 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp sugar and 2 pinches of oregano.

Cheats:

*1 cup whole milk + 1 tablespoon lemon yields buttermilk substitute after it has had a chance to curdle (about 15mins).

I am not feeling well and I still haven't bought a new grater, so I did not freshly grate the parmesan.


Have recipes for me?  Send to : theManicCheater@gmail.com