So Many Dishes

Maybe war is too strong a word, but, when I was growing up, my brother and I used to fight to get the most ravioli when my mother cooked them. It was a competition that only ended when my parents decided that ravioli would be divided equally among the four of us. Back then, frozen ravioli came in boxes rather than bags, with 24 to a package. The result was six ravioli on each of our plates.

I made a dish that featured ravioli on Saturday, but the reason I related that story is because my brother has been much on my mind the past few days. He suffered a heart attack Saturday night. Fortunately, he’s doing well and was discharged from the hospital yesterday. The stent that he had inserted two months ago was “deployed” properly, but it’s been fixed now and he says he feels much better. Still, he’s my “baby brudder,” and I can’t help but worry.

The dish is why I’m here, though, and it’s a wonderfully different take on a pasta salad. I don’t know why I should be surprised that ravioli work well in a salad. After all, I love tortellini salads, and what are they, really but a different shape of the same thing.

The recipe is from Summer Pasta Cookbook, one of the “specials” published by Food Network Magazine a few years ago. This is the only recipe I’ve made from it, although there are others that Ken and I think look interesting. We’ve tried to cut back on the amount of pasta we eat, so we don’t cook it as often as we used to.

The recipe is very simple. Plus, since I had vinaigrette left over from last week’s Niçoise salad, I used that in place of the dressing ingredients called for. I realized, as I was assembling everything, that I didn’t have any parsley; it would look better with some added color. Also, I think fresh basil would be a good addition.

Ravioli-Olive Salad

• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt
• 1 19-ounce bag frozen ravioli
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives
• Chopped fresh parsley, for topping

Soak onion slices in a bowl of ice water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli and cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Whisk the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, and garlic in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the ravioli, red onion, grape tomatoes, and olives; toss to combine. Top with parsley. Makes 4 servings.

Happy eating!