Based on a recipe from Woman’s Day magazine, May 2011
Ingredients:
14-16 oz. pkg. of cheese ravioli (You can buy fresh or frozen or you can use homemade. I bought some fresh three cheese and spinach ravioli and tried it for this recipe and it was delicious)
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped nuts – the original recipe called for walnuts but I used pecans instead
1/2 lb. asparagus, cut into diagonal slices
I also threw in some leftover veggies I had on hand: green beans and peas
Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Cook the ravioli as per package directions. Cook the garlic and nuts in olive oil until they are both golden in colour, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and other veggies to the skillet and cook for about 2-3 minutes until it is tender-crisp and the rest of the veggies are heated through. Serve the asparagus mixture over the ravioli and top with Parmesan.
Roasted Pear Salad
Ingredients
1 tsp. butter
2 pears
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries
1 piece of Naan bread (or you can use some ciabatta bread, pita, flour tortilla)
3-4 oz. feta or goat cheese
1/3 cup balsamic or pear vinegar
2 T. honey or molasses (a fruit molasses like pomegranate is great here)
1 T. dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
6 oz. (about 4 cups) baby spinach
Instructions:
Grease a baking sheet with the butter. Core the pears and cut them into 8 wedges each. Toss the pears with the sugar and place on the buttered baking sheet cut sides down. Bake 15 minutes at 450 degrees F until the pears are soft and the sides touching the baking sheet have browned. Place the pears on parchment or waxed paper to cool. Toast the pecans either in the oven or a skillet until golden brown. Put half of the cranberries in a bowl and stir in the pecans. Brush the bread with a little olive oil and toast in a 400 degree F oven for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Crumble the cheese over the bread and return to the oven for a few more minutes until the cheese has melted a bit. Combine the rest of the cranberries, the vinegar, molasses/honey, and mustard in a blender and blend until nice and smooth. Stream in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss the spinach, half of the pecan mixture, and the vinaigrette together. When serving, top each serving of salad with pears, the toasted bread, and the rest of the pecan mixture.
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