Thursday, August 27, 2009

Four Cheese Ravioli with grilled veggies

Disclaimer---I hardly EVER follow a recipe to the "T". I rarely have all of the ingredients called for, or just feel like breaking the rules! Most of my recipes are embarassingly simple and easy to vary, so please feel free!

Okay, so I am totally cheating with this one! I'm using store-bought four-cheese ravioli (from Trader Joe's, if you're curious) but adding some extra ingredients to make it extra yummy!. My eleven year-old helped me with this and we had a blast! I love using the fresh produce from our local fruit stand (J-Mar Farms, they are the best!). I'm not sure if we'll term this "healthy" because of the alfredo sauce and prosciutto, but there are lots of veggies. Dessert is very simple: fresh peaches with a zabaglione sauce. I love summer!


Four cheese Ravioli with Grilled Veggies

1 large yellow pepper
1 large red pepper
1/2 large Vidalia onion
1 small eggplant
8 button mushrooms
1 qt cherry tomatoes (keep whole)
1 zucchini (I used a green and yellow zucchini)
fresh herbs, chopped finely
2 T olive oil
premade ravioli (I used 2 packs, or 1 large family pack)
1/2 stick butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella
large jar marinara sauce
10-12 paper-thin slices of prosciutto

1. Chop fresh veggies to about the same size and place in large bowl with herbs and olive oil. Place on your favorite grill tray until the veggies are crisp-tender and have a few char-marks.
2. In non-stick saute pan, "crisp" the prosciutto. Remove to paper towel to drain. In the same pan, place butter, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and heavy cream and stir over low heat until melted together.
3. In large oven-proof dish, layer 1/2 of the marinara sauce, thawed ravioli, prosciutto, alfredo sauce, grilled veggies, the remaining marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese. (You'll notice that I am totally skipping the step where the ravioli is supposed to be boiled...just ignore the package)
4. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, uncover for 15 minutes and then serve.
(serves 4)


Sliced peaches with zabaglione sauce
Fresh sliced peaches, skin removed, tossed with lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
rind of one lemon

1. Chill peaches until ready to serve.
2. In a double-boiler (make sure the boiling water does not come in contact with the "top"), whisk the yolks, sugar, and lemon rind until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. The mixture should be very warm, but definitely not boiling. Refrigerate until cooled.
3. To serve, place sauce over peaches. If desired, any kind of dessert wine or liqueur, (especially orange-flavored) could be mixed into the sauce. You could also top with fresh whipped cream for a little extra decadence.
***As always, vary! Any kind of berry or stone fruit would be delicious in place of the peaches***

No comments:

Post a Comment