A Quick Dinner for One

By Lori Powell
For One or Two Bites, a blog for singles and couples

Frozen ravioli is a great shortcut to putting dinner on the table. The key is to find the brand that you like.

Fresh Market in my neighborhood makes some exceptional flavors such as pumpkin, roasted vegetable and a cheese one that is not all about the fillers or preservatives. The dough is thin and tender, and cooks up in no time.

So I have dinner on the table in minutes without any guilt that I’m eating something that’s not healthful. The other great thing is that frozen ravioli are easy to portion out since they are individual pouches of deliciousness.

When making ravioli, think beyond the sauce. I look at the ravioli as my protein on the plate and gild it with sautéed vegetables, using whatever happens to be kicking around in my fridge, along with a touch of broth or pasta cooking water.

When I lived in New York City with a vegetarian roommate, I used to cook up a bunch of cheese or mushroom ravioli and top it with salad ingredients such as arugula, sautéed mushrooms, toasted pine nuts or almonds, goat cheese or fresh mozzarella, and a splash of vinegar or fresh lemon juice. It became our favorite dinner, from which we spun many variations…it was kind of like our pizza night.

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Cheese Ravioli over a Vegetable Ragu
Serves 1

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped red or yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
5 to 6 frozen ravioli depending on their size
Splash of half and half if desired
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Heat butter and oil in a medium skillet over moderate heat and cook mushrooms, stirring, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add bell pepper, onion and rosemary to skillet adding more oil if necessary, cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in broth and simmer until reduced by half. Remove from heat and reserve.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
3. Add pasta to skillet with half and half, if using, and cook over low heat, tossing to combine with vegetables until heated through, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

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