Ravioli Salad:Recipe

We have soup for dinner once every week or two. Soup is comforting and easy because you can make it in advance if you like. Healthy too. Now that the weather is warming up, salads also seem like a good choice for dinner, yet I'm always afraid they won't be hearty enough. I love a Cobb salad or a chicken salad, but they can be a bit too hearty, if you know what I mean. A green salad just needs that extra something to make it feel like a meal.

Last week I had a salad at an Italian restaurant that had included a few toasted ravioli. A very American thing to do, but it really worked. Usually when I make ravioli I like to mix it with some kind of vegetable or serve a salad on the side but this was a great amalgamation. I don't remember all the things in the salad so I set about to make my own version with the chicken herb ravioli I had on hand. I added some vegetables, cheese and a vinaigrette and voila! a salad supper if there ever was one. Just the thing when you're not too hungry and you want something healthy to eat.

I think you could make endless variations on this salad, it really depends what you have available and what strikes your fancy. Consider using a combination of herbs, greens, vegetables and cheese that compliment the ravioli and you're on your way.

Ravioli Dinner Salad
Serves 2

10 ravioli (I used chicken herb but any flavor/filling would work fine)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil

handful flat leaf parsley
handful fresh cilantro
3 Tablespoon crumbled feta cheese
4 canned artichoke hearts, cut in quarters
1 small tomato sliced in wedges
green or red leaf lettuce

balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Mix up the vinaigrette to taste (or you could use bottled salad dressing). Boil the ravioli according to instructions, then drain and saute in butter and oil over medium heat until lightly brown on each side and slightly crispy. Toss the greens and the vegetables and herbs with the vinaigrette composed of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Plate up the salad and top each serving with the warm ravioli and a sprinkling of feta cheese.

Enjoy!