Fried Ravioli with Crawfish Cream Sauce

By msippigrl

Frozen cheese filled ravioli are deep fried and topped with a creamy crawfish sauce.

Ingredients

• 12-16 ozs. crawfish tails (thawed if frozen and rinsed in cold water then drained well in colander)
• Frozen cheese ravioli (I used Great Value Five Cheese ravioli)
• 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs (I used Progresso)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (in green can)
• 2 extra-large eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons salted butter
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery, optional
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce (I used Hunt's)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Salt, black pepper, creole seasoning, to taste
• 1 cup half-and-half cream
• Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation

Step 1

Prep crawfish and vegetables. Line a wire cooling rack with a couple layers of paper towels then place rack on a cooking sheet. Set aside.

Heat about 2 inches vegetable oil in a medium pot to 350°.

Combine Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Dip raviolis in egg wash and then coat in bread crumb mixture. Place coated raviolis on a large platter until ready to fry.

Preheat oven to 150° F.

When oil is hot, start dropping in the coated raviolis, a few at a time, and deep fry until they float to the top and brown. As they are cooked, transfer them to the paper towel lined wire rack and place in the warm oven.

Make the Crawfish Sauce:

Melt the butter in a medium skillet or pot over medium heat and saute onion, bell pepper, and celery until soft but not browned, stirring constantly. Stir in garlic and cook and stir for another minute. Add crawfish tails and cook until heated through. (If crawfish produce much liquid, continue to cook until it is almost completely reduced). Stir in tomato sauce and season with salt, black pepper, and creole seasoning to taste. Sprinkle the flour over the top and cook and stir for a minute or two. Gradually, stir in the half-and-half and cook until thickened, stirring frequently. (Can stir in a little Parmesan at the end, if desired).

Serve crawfish sauce over the fried raviolis. Garnish with parsley or green onion, if desired.