When the two pickiest eaters I know give a recipe the thumbs-up, I hold onto that recipe for dear life. That being said, Giada de Laurentiis’ recipe for Fried Ravioli will be going no where anytime soon.

I purchased Giada’s latest cookbook, Everyday Pasta, this past weekend and saw the recipe when I was quickly flipping through the book in the car on the way home (I was not driving). It was probably one of the least fussiest appetizers I’ve ever made and was familiar enough to my dad that he enjoyed it. (My Baked Brie appetizer with Raspberry Chipotle sauce… yeah, that doesn’t quite go over as well with Dad.) I always have meat sauce in the freezer and picked up a refrigerated package of Buitoni Light Four Cheese Ravioli from the store – the remaining ingredients were staples that I most always have on hand.

Fried Ravioli, adapted from Giada de Laurentiis’ Everyday Pasta
Vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 pkg store-bought cheese ravioli (the small ravioli)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cup marinara (or leftover meat sauce), heated, for dipping

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 1 inch. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in three batches, dip ravioli in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Dredge ravioli in the bread crumbs. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining ravioli.

When the oil is hot, fry the ravioli in batches, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain.

Sprinkle the fried ravioli with Parmesan and serve with warmed sauce for dipping.

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