Last week I fried some left over mac and cheese, this week, I give ravioli the same treatment. Toasted (or fried) cheese ravioli actually ends up being more of a fried cheese delivery mechanism than anything else. Similar to mozzarella sticks, but with a bit more breading. The pasta exterior only serves to contain the melted cheesy goodness and give something for the batter to stick to.
Toasted Ravioli.
I served small plates of these to guests with little ramekins of marinara sauce as appetizers. It went over really well and many of the guests had never heard of toasted ravioli before, so everyone was interested to try it. I’ve managed to get the hang of frying, so I can quickly and easily keep a continuous stream of fried treats coming out of the pot. The trick is to be organized and to get a good staging area. It does take a little space to set everything up, but it makes everything move like clockwork.
You can either buy fresh ravioli or make your own. Fresh ravioli can be found in the refrigerated sections of many grocery stores. Don’t use the canned stuff though, it’s covered in sauce and not as good quality as the fresh versions. The homemade or fresh raviolis don’t need to be precooked. They are already soft and ready to use, frying will take care of any remaining cooking that needs to be done.
Ingredients
The ingredients can be scaled to make more.
Fresh ravioli
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
oil for deep frying
Directions
The first thing is to get all your hardware ready and in it’s place. Take out three shallow bowls, two large plates, and some paper towel. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together in the first bowl, the beaten egg goes in the next, and the bread go in the last. Arrange the bowls so you can go from one to the next, with a final rest on one of the large plates before going into the fryer.
Your order should be 1)Flour -> 2)Egg ->3)Breadcrumbs -> 4)Plate.
So coat each ravioli with flour, then transfer them to the egg mixture. Make sure the egg gets everywhere over the ravioli or the bread crumbs will not stick. Press the breadcrumbs into the ravioli and then transfer to the plate to rest.
Once the ravioli has rested for a few minutes (to allow the batter to set). Place them into the 350-375F oil until they become golden brown (about 1-3 minutes).
Remove the hot ravioli to your remaining plate lined with paper towels to cool slightly before serving.
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