Insalata Caprese with Fried Buitoni Ravioli

Billy and I absolutely love Insalata Caprese. We have it all summer long with tomatoes and basil plucked right out of the garden. It’s incredibly simple to make, and especially wonderful on a hot afternoon or evening when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen. The sweet tomatoes, warm from the sun, the fragrant basil, and tender, fresh mozzarella slices--drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar is absolutely perfect. We also love some fresh cracked black pepper and a touch of kosher salt sprinkled over.

Sometimes though, you’re left feeling hungry a while later. What if we turn that Insalata Caprese into a meal? Yes, let’s! Enter Buitoni Fresh Chicken Marsala Ravioli with all natural white meat chicken, roasted Portobello mushrooms and caramelized onions with Ricotta, Parmesan, and Asiago cheeses, accented with Marsala Wine. It’s one of their new fresh pasta products and it’s wonderful! I was given the opportunity to try some of their new ravioli--and how could I say no? We love Buitoni’s products!

I pan fried the ravioli to give them a nice crunchy texture to contrast with the soft tomatoes and mozzarella. They’re so simple to prepare this way and it doesn’t take long at all. I had dinner ready in under 30 minutes, and most of that time was used slicing the salad ingredients.

Insalata Caprese with Fried Ravioli

Serves about 4 people, depending on their appetites.

I like to serve a nice baguette alongside to soak up the oil, vinegar and juices from the tomatoes that you’ll have left in your plate. You don’t want to waste those!

A note about the bread crumb mixture. I hate it when I’m breading something and I run out of the mixture and need to stop and make more, so I always make more than I need. This makes enough to bread three 9 ounce packages of ravioli and them some. So I did 3 packs so we could have leftovers. Dip them in marinara for a fun snack!

2-3 (9 oz) packages of fresh Buitoni Ravioli (your choice of flavor)
3 eggs
1 tbsp water
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
oil for cooking
4-5 medium tomatoes (I used a mixture of garden and Kumato tomatoes-see note)
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
One good sized bunch of basil
Olive oil
Balsamic Cream or balsamic vinegar (see note)
A bit of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Beat the eggs in a bowl with the 1 tbsp of water. Set aside. In another bowl, big enough to coat the ravioli in-but not huge, mix the panko, the parmesan and Italian seasoning.

Take the ravioli and one at a time, dip them in egg to coat, then drop in the bread crumb mixture. Be sure to coat them all over. Set them aside on a plate or large cutting board until you're ready to cook them. Don’t stack them or they’ll get soggy.

Heat a large pan over medium to medium high heat. When it's hot, add enough oil to coat the bottom with about 1/4-1/2 inch of oil. Let the oil get hot--you don't want to drop the ravioli into cold oil. They'll just sit there and soak up oil and not fry correctly. To test the oil, drop a bit of breadcrumb in the pan. If it sizzles, you’re good to go. If not, let it heat a little more.

So, your oil is hot. Drop the ravioli in the pan in a single layer. Give them about a minute then flip when they're golden brown. Cook on the second side for another minute or so, until they're golden brown all over. Drain on paper towels. I was able to fit one pack at a time in the pan--about 11-12 ravioli. If you see your ravioli is getting too dark, reduce the heat.

Bread crumbs have a tendency to hang out in the oil and burn, so I emptied the pan and started with new oil for the second batch. You be the judge, but burned bread crumbs will make them taste awful. And really, it only takes 2-3 minutes to fry each batch, so it's a really fast process, and not a lot of work. I hope you'll try these!

To assemble the salad:  On a plate, alternate the ravioli, tomato and mozzarella slices and basil leaves in a wreath shape. If you want single serving sizes for appetizers, give each guest a little stack of alternating ingredients in their own plate.

Drizzle with a good fruity olive oil and balsamic. Sprinkle some salt and pepper lightly over the top. Don’t forget your bread to soak up the juices in the plate!

• NOTE: We love Kumato tomatoes when our garden isn’t giving us tomatoes yet. They are amazingly full of fresh tomato flavor. Trader Joe’s has them, but I’ve seen them popping up in grocery stores, too.
• NOTE: Balsamic Cream. Pastene is the brand I find in my grocery store, but last week, I saw that Trader Joe’s is carrying some, too. What is it? Aside from being delicious, it’s thick and slightly sweeter than regular balsamic vinegar. Try it--I’ll bet you fall in love with it like we did.
• For quick dinners, pick up some pastas and sauces from Buitoni! And don’t feel limited to just boiling them, even though that’s fine. Experiment and have fun! I took some ravioli and turned a lighter salad into a heartier main dish--get creative!

Autumn Butternut Squash Ravioli Salad

Fresh greens, crunchy and tender. Crisp apple and carrots, nutty toasted pecans, and tart dried cranberries, brought back to life. Dubliner cheese, thinly shaved, and beautiful butternut squash ravioli that’s been cooked to perfection, with hints of sage coming through. Top all of this with a maple balsamic vinaigrette, and you have this delicious Autumn inspired salad.

Ravioli in a salad? Sure, why not! We put tortellini in salads, right? Not only do they add great texture, but they turn a salad into a hearty meal!

I was contacted a short while ago by Sarah, representing Pasta Prima.  She wanted to know if I’d be interested in participating in their “Reinventing Ravioli” promotion. The idea is to kick traditional sauce to the curb and put a new spin on ravioli. I’m in! We love ravioli. I don’t make it myself, but I always find the fresh ravioli you can buy at the store to be such a treat. Not to mention a great quick meal. 

UPDATE: So...this Autumn Butternut Squash Ravioli Salad recipe won the contest! I was so thrilled! Pasta Prima kindly furnished $1,000 worth of kitchen essentials from Williams Sonoma. A huge thanks goes out to them!

I’d never tried Pasta Prima! Mainly because they’re not in my regular grocery store (Yet. I may have to throw a fit until they start stocking it!), and we don’t have a Costco that’s quite local. The good news is that I’ve found a store right in my area that does carry their line, so now we can have it anytime. Check the Store Locater on the right hand side of the home page to see if it’s in your area.

Their ravioli are just fantastic! We’ve tried the Grilled Chicken and Mozzarella ravioli, the Butternut Squash, and the Wild Mushroom. They also offer Gluten free and Organic options, too!

Oh! Pasta Prima also uses 100% natural ingredients just like we would use in our own kitchens. Their products are all made in small batches and minimally processed. We did a side by side taste test with some of Pasta Prima’s ravioli, and a favorite from a store we frequent. Not only did Pasta Prima’s taste better and fresher, but they were also more plump and pillowy, with more filling compared to the others. We’re sold!

Now, I know what you’re thinking about the salad. I do! You’re thinking: “That salad looks great, but it’s screaming for some bacon!” Right?

It is, isn’t it? And I had the bacon, just in my reach. It was perfect. Oven baked, crispy, deep golden brown, salty, savory…perfect. It was on the kitchen island, just waiting to be crumbled into that pretty salad. I had moved it too close to the edge, I suppose. Making room for the youngest kid to have his dinner. I walked away, foolishly. Next thing I heard was the plate hitting the floor. Running in, I found not a kid that had elbowed the plate. No. I found four very happy Corgis having the best “dog treats” ever made for dog treating. Little buggers! How could I get mad? It was my fault.

MY BACON!!! My perfect bacon. Gone in ten seconds flat. My advice to you? If you make this salad, add the crumbled bacon. It was delicious as is, but I just know that salty bacon would have been perfect. In fact, I made the croutons in the bacon fat! So we still had a bit of bacon flavor in there. I’m adding the bacon to the ingredient list since it was supposed to be in there in the first place. Ok? Ok.

Autumn Butternut Squash Ravioli Salad

Feeds two for a main dish or three to four as a side dish.

Salad:
1 (10 oz) bag ready to use Romaine
2 cups (loosely packed) fresh baby greens (I have these in my garden, but you can use any other green you like)
1/2 cup dried cranberries, plumped in hot water and drained
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
1 large carrot, julienned
1 apple, thinly sliced
1 (8 oz) package Pasta Prima Butternut Squash Ravioli, cooked and cooled (I saved the flavor packet for another day.)
bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled (keep out of dog's reach)
sharp cheddar cheese, for shaving over the top

Croutons (optional)*

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1 1/2 tsp Deli Mustard (spicy mustard)
2 pinches of apple pie spice (or more to taste)
1/4 cup golden balsamic
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 tsp lemon juice
2 pinches ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

For the salad:

First, cook the bacon. Heat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Lay the bacon slices on the pan, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until nicely browned and crispy. Remove the bacon from the sheet and set on paper towels to cool. SAVE the bacon fat for the croutons! Lift the foil, and tip the bacon fat right on to the baking sheet to cook the croutons in. Discard the foil. I had just enough bacon fat to nicely coat the bottom of the pan. Leave the oven at 400.

Croutons:

I had about 1/3 (approx. 4 cups when cubed) of a nice artisan Italian bread sitting on the counter, so I cubed it for croutons. Toss the bread cubes on the baking sheet with the bacon fat and drizzle with a touch of olive oil. Sprinkle the cubes with salt and pepper, then some garlic and onion powder-just a nice sprinkling, don’t coat them in the the powder. Toss all of this with a spatula. Bake for 7-9 minutes, stirring halfway through, until they're golden brown and toasty on the edges. Remove from oven and set aside. Bacony croutons!! (If you’re opposed to using the bacon fat, just use all olive oil.)

Vinaigrette:

At this point, make the vinaigrette. Combine all ingredients except the oil. Whisk to combine. Add the oil and keep whisking until everything's nicely blended. Set aside.

Assemble the salad:

In a large bowl, toss all of the greens with the cranberries, pecans, carrots and apples. Drizzle with some of the vinaigrette, toss, and taste. Adjust and add more if needed. Remember-start with less than you think you need-you can always add more, but you can't take it away once it's in there. Add some of the salad to each serving plate.

Divide the ravioli and place over each salad. (I kept them mostly whole for the photos, but to serve, cut each ravioli in 4 pieces for good distribution in the salad. Also more graceful to eat this way, ha!)

Top each salad with crumbled bacon, shaved cheddar cheese, and croutons. Serve.

• I hope you’ll give this salad a try--with the bacon! It was fantastic without it, but would be even better with it, of course.
• If you’ve seen Pasta Prima products in your local grocery or Costco and wondered how they are, give them a try! They’re packed with flavor, and all natural. Two very important things.
• Lastly, don’t be afraid to serve ravioli without the sauce! I’m sure if you think about it, you can find different ways to use them.
• Oh--the apple pie spice in the vinaigrette. It adds a nice warm, spicy taste to the dressing. My advice is to add a couple pinches, and them taste to see if you want more. If you don’t have apple pie spice, you can use cinnamon with just a touch of nutmeg. Just a touch!

It’s a Fig-a-palooza!

Photo by Gudlyf

Who doesn’t love figs?  I know we do.  LOVE.  If, like me, your only exposure to figs while growing up was in Fig Newtons, then you need to get yourself some fresh figs, STAT.  Not that there’s anything wrong with Fig Newtons--I still love those cookies to this day.  Fresh figs are completely different.  Slightly sweet, so fresh tasting--like summer!  I say get some STAT,  because the fresh fig season is so short, sadly.  Seems they appear in the markets as quickly as they disappear.  You need to jump on them when you see them, or you may not get any.

So when Cristina from the California Fig Advisory Board contacted me about trying some fresh figs*, I nearly jumped through my laptop--all the way to California--to say “Yes, please!”  

Fig Ice Cream

I was expecting maybe a pound or two?  No.  It was so funny when I opened the door.  There were two giant boxes waiting for me.  They were both filled almost to the brim with figs!  There were five flats of fresh figs that had 36 in each--and all different varieties.  Plus--two bags full of dried figs, that were each weighing in at four pounds!  I didn’t get any photos of them because honestly, it was incredibly hot the day they arrived, and my first priority was to get the flats broken down and the delicate figs stored somewhere cool.  My friend Kathy at A Good Appetite got some beautiful photos of what exactly was included, and I’m sure you’ll want to see them.  Figs are just gorgeous, inside and out!

So let’s add that up, ok?  Five flats of 36 each--that’s 15 dozen fresh figs!  And 4 pounds of dried figs!  We’re in fig heaven, I’m telling you.  What have we done with them?  Well, besides eating a ton of them as they are, I made a fig jam and fig ice cream.  There were so many of them, and they’re pretty fragile, so we ended up freezing some of them for winter use.  I’ll be looking forward to that!

The Fig Ice Cream can be found at Vanilla Garlic.  It’s creamy, figgy and wonderful!  Also--easy, but it can be time consuming when it comes to cooking the figs down.

Fig Jam 

The Fig Jam--well, I just read a few recipes and winged it.  The result is a thick, chunky fig jam that is delicious anywhere you’d use any other jam.  It would also be amazing with a nice aged cheese, which I’m all out of!  Damn.

Fig Jam
makes about 2 cups

14-15 fresh figs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
small splash of lime juice

Rinse the figs and quarter them.  Add them to a medium saucepan with only the water left on them from rinsing.
Cook them down over medium heat, and kind of smush them with a wooden spoon to help them along.  Cook them down for 15-20 minutes.
Stir in the sugar, increase heat a bit, and let the figs cook more.  Stir occasionally.
It'll be hot, so be careful!  (A splatter screen comes in very handy here.)
Cook the figs and sugar until it's thickened and almost burnt smelling, as if you were caramelizing sugar.Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and lime juice.
Let cool, and then store in an airtight container in the fridge.

I also used some figs in my Summer Harvest Salad.  They’re a great addition to your summer salads!

Summer Harvest Salad

The California Fig Advisory Board has also generously offered to give one of you the SAME PACKAGE I received.  (Remember, you can see photos of the entire thing at A Good Appetite.)  This one is open to US residents only because of shipping.

One winner will receive the same five flats of fresh figs, and two bags of dried figs.  That’s a lot of figgy goodness!   Two huge boxes worth!

Because the shipping season for figs is so short, this has to be a quickie giveaway.  The winner will be randomly chosen on Saturday, August 28th.

1.  Just leave a comment here telling me what you’d like to make with figs.

2.  You can retweet this twice a day on Twitter, if you like, and get an additional comment entry with each tweet.  Please leave the timestamp of your tweets in your comment. Retweet this tweet:

It’s a Fig-a-palooza! HUGE fig prize package! Visit @elleskitchen for more details. http://tinyurl.com/33kvppr

Be sure to leave a valid email where you can be reached!

That’s it!  Easy, right?  Good luck! 

AND THE WINNER IS...

Number 12 is...SMITH BITES

Congratulations to our winner, and thank you to everyone for entering! 

*The California Fig Advisory Board generously gave me the fresh and dried figs to try, as well as the same package to give away to one of my readers.  I was not compensated to write this article and give my opinions. 

Summer Harvest Salad

I’m sure you all know by now, we’re huge fans of salad in my house.  We usually have one large salad dinner per week, and sometimes twice a week.   I do mean large--like complete meal salads packed with mix ins for wonderful texture and “chew.”

Do you remember my post a while back on Olivia’s Organics?  Yep-still love their salad greens!  They’re amazingly fresh and there are so many blends to choose from.  Olivia’s Organics is sponsoring a recipe contest for…salad, of course!  The winning recipe will snag you a $500 Williams Sonoma gift certificate, and your recipe featured on their site.  Nice, right?  This salad is my entry in the contest.

In celebrating the “flavors of the season,” I came up with this recipe for Summer Harvest Salad.  I’m in love with it!  I usually just throw salads together, tossing in whatever is fresh and looks good at the moment.  This time, I actually gave it some thought!  I brought together some of our favorites, and I think, created a wonderful salad that celebrates some of summer’s freshest fruits and vegetables.

There are the tender greens, ranging in flavors from sweet to bitter. The crunchiness of the fennel, pear and pistachios. The fresh soft figs, and let’s not forget the bite of the dried cherries, cheese cubes and bacon!  We’ve also got some sweet and sour action happening in the vinaigrette, with the honey and orange playing off of the tangy vinegar.  The salty bacon is an excellent contrast to the dressing. 

Summer Harvest Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

serves 2 for a main course

1 large container of Olivia's Organics Asian Salad Blend
a handful of torn Romaine lettuce leaves (feel free to add more greens)
1 small fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced crosswise
5-6 fresh figs, halved, then each half cut into 4 pieces
1 medium red pear, cored and thinly sliced
2-3 oz. Gouda, cut into chunks or sliced
a handful of dried cherries
a handful of shelled pistachios
a handful of crumbled bacon

Orange Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

makes approx 1 cup

3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp honey
about 4 tbsp fresh orange juice
zest of half an orange
1 tbsp poppy seeds
pinch of salt and cracked black pepper
1/2 cup canola oil (or other neutral oil)

In a bowl, whisk everything except the oil.
While whisking, pour in the oil in a thin stream, whisk until emulsified.

Assemble the salad:

In a large bowl, gently toss the greens, fennel, figs, and pear with some of the vinaigrette to taste.  Remember, less is more--and you can add more if you need to, but you can't take it away once it's in there.  Taste for seasonings, add a touch more salt and pepper if needed.

Divide the salad between the plates, and top each serving equally with the Gouda, dried cherries, pistachios and bacon.  Serve immediately.

Go check out the contest, and think about submitting a recipe of your own!  You may discover a brand new salad that will become a family favorite.

Olivia’s Organics Giveaway

Baby Arugula and Cauliflower Salad (click on photo to see recipe)

Giveaway Closed...congrats to Jessica, comment #2-her comment was randomly chosen!

It’s no secret that in my house, we love salad.  We have it at least 2-3 times per week, and usually--it’s the main dish that night.  We’ve found that a big salad a couple times a week is a simple and quick way to incorporate fresh, raw foods into our diet. 

And I do mean BIG.  It’s so satisfying and filling--and always enjoyable.  We make full use of the vegetable and fruit bins, not to mention nuts and other crunchy things when it comes to additions to our big salads.   That’s aside from the usual suspects, tomato and cucumber.   No offense to those two, though!  I absolutely love cucumber in my salads, and as long as the tomatoes are fresh, they’re welcome in the salad bowl, too.

Don’t feel stuck in a rut when it comes to your salads.  Fruits like apples, pears, mangos, nectarines, peaches, berries, grapes--whatever you like--add wonderful flavor and texture to a salad.  Toss in some nuts, sesame sticks, or other crunchy little snack-type things you may have lying around.  It all makes your salad interesting!  Oh!  Dried fruits are good, too--and I don’t mean the usual old raisins.  Look around and see what you can find.  We’ve used dried blueberries and cherries, which add a really nice flavor and a bit of something unexpected.

Olivia’s Organics.  Who are they?  They’re a local company based in Chelsea, MA.   Olivia’s great grandfather Giovanni started the business 70 years ago in Faneuil Hall.  He began by selling celery hearts out of a produce stall.  The business still thrives today selling the freshest, organic greens directly to us.  They give back to the community, as well.  Their charitable organization helps many charities, both local and nationwide.  

All of Olivia’s Organics products are certified organic and come in earth friendly packaging.  Food safety is also a very important part of bringing their greens from farm to consumer.   Also?  Out of all of the packaged salad greens we’ve ever tried, Olivia’s remained the freshest for the longest amount of time.  I’m serious--fresh, crunchy, tender, just perfect.  The salads to go are great to grab on your way out the door in the morning!  Each includes the greens, a dressing packet, (some have croutons, too!) and a fork to make your lunch painless and delicious.

 

How do they taste?  Incredibly fresh, just like you want your salads to be.  The greens are tender, crunchy, sweet, spicy--like good greens should be.  I wouldn’t hesitate to buy anything from Olivia’s Organics, ever.  In fact, I’m going to bug my local grocery store to start carrying their products!

Since Olivia’s Organics aren’t available nationwide yet, Rachel at Olivia’s has generously offered to send one winner a package of a week’s worth of salad, a $25 value. This will arrive packed with frozen gel packs to insure freshness.  This can only be shipped in the US, though.  

We thoroughly enjoyed our week of salads from Olivia’s Organics, and I’m positive you will, too!  Check for them in your area, in the meantime.   If your store doesn’t carry them, talk to the manager and ask them to look into it.  In my experience, many stores are more than willing to stock things for their customers.

Be sure to check out all of Olivia’s Organics available products!

Three ways to earn entries:

1)  Leave a comment here telling me which of their products you’d be most anxious to try, and also--your favorite add-ins to salads.  I’m always on the lookout for more ideas, so let’s hear them!

2)  You can tweet about this giveaway once a day, and get one additional entry for each tweet.  Leave a comment for each one.

3)  For one additional entry, you can follow Olivia’s Organics on Twitter and Facebook.  Leave one comment letting me know you did.

4)  Be sure to leave a valid email address where I can reach you!

One winner in the US will be randomly chosen on Tuesday, July 20th, and notified by email. 

Note: I was not paid by Olivia’s Organics for my opinion.  I did receive an assortment of their products to sample.  Photos courtesy of Olivia's Organics.