2 Summer Cook Out Recipes: Easy Veggie Pasta Salad and Toasted Ravioli with Homemade Marinara

Yesterday all the girls headed to Winthrop for a gourmet summer cook out at the Solomon's!  The theme for the cook out was grilled pizza, but there were many other treats to be had including grilled veggie skewers, grilled meat skewers, grille fruit skewers and tons of other awesomeness.  I figured there wouldn't be much along the vegan lines (I was wrong) and opted to make two dishes I could knew I would be able to eat.

Both are quick and easy and went over well with the non-vegans (aka everyone else)!

Easy Veggie Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
Veggies of your choice, here is what I used:
1 zucchini, diced
1 summer squash, diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 ears of roasted corn (prepared before) and removed from the cobb
2 medium carrots, diced
Some broccolini
1/2 lb of asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 button mushrooms, chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 scallions, cut fine
3 tablespoons of Grapeseed oil
1 package of Organic Brown Rice Pasta (or whatever you prefer)e
2 lemons
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

This recipe is so simple and so delicious.  Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees and cutting up all of your veggies, this is the hardest part of this recipe!  Bring a large pot of water to a boil with salt and a little EVOO for your pasta.  Boil your pasta until it is al dente.

In a large bowl, combine all of you other ingredients (minus the lemons and scallions) and stir well, assuring that all the veggies are coated.  Place them on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When they are done roasting, transfer them back to the bowl and let them cool in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Cool your pasta as well.  When both the veggies and pasta are cooled, mix them together adding the juice from the lemons and the scallions.  Make sure you give it the taste test to assure you don't need a little more salt and pepper. 

Toasted Ravioli with Marinara
Ingredients:
Vegan Ravioli (see note below on how to make your own), I bought pre-made at DePasquale's- I used tofu, spinach and apricot ravioli
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup of homemade bread crumbs- you can find my recipe in this post
A little Italian seasoning (I use a combination of thyme, oregano, basil, parsley, and marjoram)
3/4 cup of almond milk
Some grapeseed oil for frying

For the sauce:
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 tablespoon of EVOO
1 tablespoon of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of  basil
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of rosemary
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Dash of red pepper
1 tablespoon of vegan Parmesan
1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes

Set up is the key in this recipe because it all comes together fast.  I put my pan with oil on low heat while I prepare the first round of ravioli.  You don't want to put the ravioli into a pot of cold oil, so heat it up slowly.

Set up your stations:
1) Bowl with almond milk
2) Plate with flour
3) Plate with Panko, bread crumbs and seasonings

You start by dredging the ravioli in the almond milk, coating it well.  Then you coat it in the flour before returning it to the almond milk for another coating.  Then you coat it well in the Panko/Bread crumb mixture and place it in the oil.  Repeat for each one.  Once you have a full pan, turn the heat up to medium and cook for about 2 minutes on each side until the ravioli are nicely browned.  Drain on a plate with paper towels.  Repeat the process.

I made my marinara in advance so that all I had to do was heat it up. 

Sauce:

In a medium saucepan, saute the onion in the olive oil, for 3 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute an additional 1-2 minutes while stirring constantly, or until fragrant but not browned. Add the dried herbs, salt, and pepper, and saute an additional 30 seconds. Add the crushed tomatoes, stir well to combine, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Add the vegan Parmesan and simmer on low for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

NOTE:
I do made my own vegan ravioli and it is relatively easy, I was just in a time crunch on Sunday.  So here is my super simple recipe for vegan ravioli.  These are super fun to make and you can fill them with anything you like!  My personal favorite is spinach and mushroom.

Vegan Ravioli
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups semolina flour

3/4 cup water

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together, either in a bread maker or in a large bowl. If doing by hand, knead the dough for about 8 minutes, adding more flour if too sticky or more water if the dough won't hold together well.  Once you have kneaded the dough into a smooth ball, cover with plastic wrap in a slightly greased bowl and let rest for 30 minutes (I usually let mine rest in the fridge so it gets nice and firm).

At this point you would want to prepare your chosen filling.  Get creative!

Once your dough has rested, divide it in half or in quarters for easier rolling. Begin to roll each piece on a well floured surface. Continue rolling until it is about 1/8 inch thick. 

Lay out one sheet of pasta and place about 1/2 tsp of filling, two inches apart from each other. Then place another sheet of pasta on top and press down around the outside edges of the dough to seal. Cut out each ravioli using a ravioli cutter or pastry wheel.

Bring a large pot bring to a boil 4 quarts of salted and oiled water. Carefully add small batches of ravioli, about 4 to 5 at a time. This will prevent them from crowding in the pot and sticking together. Cook until al dente, about 7 to 9 minutes. Carefully remove using a spider strainer and place on a plate. You are ready to serve!