Fried Ravioli Recipe

My favorite Food Network Chef is Giada de Laurentiis who hosts “Every Italian” making easy to make and delicious Italian food…..YUM! I have used her recipes in the past and have had wonderful success with them! I caught a recent episode of Giada making Fried Raviolis which apparently are commonly sold on the streets of Italy! I got hungry just looking at it! A few days later, I found myself grabbing a bag of frozen ravioli from the store and making it later for dinner! These were absolutely delicious and my friends agreed too! This would be an easy to make appetizer!

 

FRIED RAVIOLI RECIPE

Ingredients:

• Olive oil, for frying
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1 box store-bought cheese ravioli (about 24 ravioli)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 jar store bought marinara sauce, heated, for dipping

Method:

Pour enough olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in batches, dip ravioli in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Dredge ravioli in the bread crumbs. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining ravioli.

When the oil is hot, fry the ravioli in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain.

Sprinkle the fried ravioli with Parmesan and serve with a bowl of warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

June’s Notes: I bought a bag of frozen ravioli from the local grocer (Market Basket) for less than $3 (per bag) and it had about 60 raviolis filled with cheese inside! What a deal! The cheese filling was Ricotta Cheese and Pecorino Romano which was delicious. However, I do think that it might be yummier if the cheese was a little gooey-er! I’ve have to look out for other kind of cheese filled ravioli next time to try. I used regular vegetable oil to fry the ravioli and just shallow fry the raviolis. The golden-brown “cheese treasures” still turned out yummy but I bet using Olive Oil to fry them give them a nuttier flavor?

I made my own marinara dipping sauce, and it’s actually very simple to make! I first brown some chopped garlic in butter, then added a can of crushed tomatoes (I always have a can or two of this at home, as I make my own pasta sauce and also use it in my curry!). To it, I added chopped parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, salt and some pepper flakes for a little kick. Let it simmer for a bit then, serve it with the Fried Raviolis! Watch out for the piping hot cheese filling in the inside!

If you’re diligent and have time to spare (or not), you could make it “Ravioli 2 Ways” with all the same ingredients! =).. First way is the Fried Ravioli and the second; boil (instead of fry) the Ravioli, strain it, and pour the marinara sauce over the cooked pasta. Then sprinkle some Parmesan Cheese with an extra dash of chopped parsley and serve immediately. Now you have both an appetizer as well as an entree? There’s gonna be an overload of RAVIOLIS!!!!!Haha!