Every time I open my freezer something comes flying out at me and lands on my foot, which sends me into a swear-fest. To add insult to injury, my dog, who somehow always seems to be watching when stuff like this happens, will give me one of those sideways glances, you know, like the one your mother would give you whenever you did something really stupid.
When it happened again the other day I decided it was time to dig the freezer out and organize it better. I unpack it and spy several bags of frozen mini cheese raviolis tucked all the way in the back corner. I must have bought them on sale, who knows when, and stocked up.
Now you know that when things have been in the freezer too long they get covered in snow which often imparts a funny freezery kind of a taste. Well these ravs were so iced over they could have sunk the Titanic, so I either had to figure out a way to eat them or I had to throw them out.
For the record, I don’t like to waste food.
I figured if I boiled them, covered them over with seasoned bread crumbs and then fried them in wickedly hot olive oil, I could purge the frozen relics of their freezer burn and make a decent appetizer out of them.
For once I was right.
What You’ll Need
2 – 13 ounce bags of frozen raviolis (same size and shape is best)
1 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs (4C or Colonna brand)
Olive oil
1 – 15 ounce can of pizza sauce (Don Pepino brand – if you can get it)
Salt
Dried Oregano
What to Do
Fill a large pot with clean cold water – about 3/4 full – and set a high heat under it.
When the pot of water comes to a rolling boil add a generous pinch of salt and one glug of oil.
Rinse the frozen raviolis under warm water so that they separate, then gently add them to the boiling water. Boil the raviolis until they are heated through – about 7 minutes for mini ravs – stirring occasionally. Carefully drain them off into a colander and immediately rinse with clean cold water to stop them from cooking any further.
Pour one cup of the seasoned bread crumbs into a shallow bowl.
Now hiss a little non-stick cooking spray into a small fry pan (with sides) then pour in several glugs of olive oil (at least 1/4 of a cup). Set a medium heat under the oil and get it good and hot. When you see the oil start to shimmer dredge 4 or 5 raviolis in the breadcrumbs then transfer them to the hot oil.
Fry the raviolis for 30 seconds then carefully turn them over and fry for another 15 seconds until nice and browned. Remove them from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and set them on a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with a little salt and oregano right away.
Fry the remaining raviolis the same way in batches of 4 or 5 until done.
Serve as an appetizer with warmed Don Pepino pizza sauce on the side for dipping.
Yields about 24 ravs (good for 4). My cost approx. $ 5.50 total – about $ 1.38 per serving.