Previous Post
Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad Recipe
November 25, 2007 | by Heidi | Filed under Heidi's Favorites, Holiday Recipes, Main Course Recipes, Salad Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Do you remember last spring when I took a fresh look at a typical pasta salad recipe? Well, I've been making a fall/winter version lately - plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, sauteed ribbons of chard, and caramelized onions. The colorful platter is finished off with a dusting of cheese, snipped chives, and lemon zest. You can prepare most of the components ahead of time, and throw it together in less than five minutes when you are ready to serve it up family-style.
If you read my other pasta salad recipe post, you know that I like the idea behind pasta salad, but think they are out of balance, and more times than not - uninspired. That being said, with a bit of tweaking I think the pasta salad can continue its reign as one of the most potluck and party-friendly plates imaginable.
A bit about today's recipe. As I mentioned above, pasta salads are great for entertaining for a few reasons - they keep nicely, you can do them ahead of time, and everyone likes them well enough. The version I did up above is hearty and substantial enough to satisfy mixed crowds of vegetarian and non-vegetarians - you can easily make a vegan version if need be. With a bit of planning it is also low-maintenance, I don't like to be in a flurry of cooking when I have friends over, so I try to come up with food that requires minimal attention from me once the doorbell starts ringing.
The day ahead I roast the hazelnuts, wash and cut the chard, caramelize the onions, and brown the butternut squash - I suspect I could even get away with pre-cooking the raviolis at the same time (see recipe headnotes). When I'm ready to serve the pasta salad the next day I toss everything together (strategically) in a big, hot skillet and plate it on a large platter. I threw this together the other night when my wine club came over and liked it enough to make it again as a side dish / vegetarian main dish on Thanksgiving. Hope you like it as much as I did.
Before I sign off, I wanted to share a couple photos with you. Many of you leave nice comments each time I feature a plate or cup or saucer from my mom's collection. She has been nice enough to lend me the occasional item for photo shoots hover the years. I took a few shots of some of my favorite items when I was visiting this weekend - there are stories and people behind many of these items - and I look forward to sharing those details at some point in the future.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful for on many fronts, but I wanted to say a special thank you to all of you who have contributed such thoughtful comments, feedback, ideas, inspiration, support, and spelling corrections(!) to this site over the years. Can you believe 101 Cookbooks is almost five years old!?
Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad Recipe
Choose a winter flavored ravioli, I used a fresh (but store-bought) sweet onion & red chard ravioli, but I suspect a butternut squash ravioli would be delicious as well. I sometimes precook the raviolis and keep them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet until I am ready to use them - this helps prevent the raviolis from melding into one another after cooking. I used a butternut squash version of the potato "croutons" shown here. Substitute butternut squash for the potatoes, you can make them a day ahead, but they loose some of their structure overnight. The flavor is still great, but you'll loose a couple points for eye-appeal. I sometimes do a big batch of the onions and keep them in a jar in the refrigerator to use in recipes like this one.
3/4 lb. raviolis (see headnotes)
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
fine grain sea salt
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch swiss chard, deveined and cut into 1/2-inch ribbons
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1 cup butternut squash "croutons"
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup chives, minced
Into an extra-large pot of well-salted boiling water add the raviolis. After a few minutes, when the raviolis float and are cooked through, drain them and toss with one tablespoon of the olive oil. This prevents them from sticking together. Set aside.
To caramelize the onions, heat another tablespoon of the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed skillet with a pinch of salt. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions collapse and turn deep brown in color. You can do this ahead of time (or just before serving) - whatever you prefer. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Just before serving heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, again in a big skillet over high heat. Add the raviolis. Stir in the onions, and then the chard. Wait until the chard begins to wilt, then stir in most of the cheese and most of the hazelnuts. Gently fold in the butternut squash and lemon zest. Remove from heat.
Serve on a big platter garnished with chives and remaining hazelnuts and Parmesan.
Serves 6.
Never miss a recipe!
Enter your email address to subscribe to 101 Cookbooks via email:
Your Comments
FreshAdriaticFish said:This sound very tasty and easy to prepare. I like pasta salads in general. When caramelizing onions I like to add few drops of Aceto Balsamico.
The photos are great!
Sanja
Happy Thanksgiving to you Heidi and to all of you!
As usual the pictures are wonderful and full of life. Your Mom seems to have a pretty large collection of china and silverware. And what makes a nice meal? The food, the people around the table and the presentation!
Bon appetit!
Happy Thanksgiving to you--what beautiful dishes!!
And thank you for the pre-cooking ravioli tip---I hate it when they meld together!
I almost didn't see the ravioli at first! This looks incredible!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Heidi: This looks amazing. I spent the spring, summer and fall addicted to your wheatberry salad, and I have a feeling this ravioli salad might be my winter addiction. Looks gorgeous, and I can't wait to make it this week. Thanks!
Jenni said:Wow - what a great and inspiring dish! I peeked at your site just as supper was approaching. I had already decided on butternut squash ravioli, but this recipe definitely changed the direction I was heading. Unfortunately, I didn't have any chard or hazelnuts in the house. I substituted spinach and pine nuts with excellent results. Since I was using butternut squash ravioli, I opted to make the croutons using red potatoes - again, with excellent results.
Thanks so much for a really incredible recipe that I could adapt to account for the contents of my fridge and pantry. It will definitely make a few repeat appearances this winter!
-Jenni
Hi there
First ever comment on this site, though I'm an avid supporter! In fact, there's no relationship between the current recipe and my comment - just looking through the archives and noticed that you have a NZ connection but no Aussie recipes, though my eye fell upon a recipe for walnut scones...
As you head into Northern Hemisphere winter, can I recommend afternoons with cups of fine tea and scones slathered with jam and cream? If so: secret recipe is "lemonade scones" made with 1 cup self-raising, 1 cup pouring cream and 1 cup lemonade. Simply cut the liquid through until just mixed, roll out the (very soft) dough lightly, chop into scones and bake hot for about ten minutes. It's a country recipe, and totally never fail - produces sublimely soft, beautifully textured golden scones. Endless varieties possible too, like cheese and cayenne, pumpkin, any number of spices etc...
That looks absolutely delicious. I love the mix of autumnal colours.
i'm tempted to try this w/ my fresh pumpkin for the croutons. by the way, i just tried your pumpkin soup (coconut thai curry) and it was fabulous!
Yum! I'm not a fan of pasta salad, but this looks amazing. I'll give it a go. Thanks, Heidi.
This really looks delicious. You so rarely see ravioli with anything but butter sauce, marinara or some sort of cream sauce. Like the idea of a do-ahead pasta salad too---with something other than the usual tortellini! Thx for the inspiration---I'm definitely making this over the weekend!
I loved the earlier version...and can't wait to try the toasty fall version. YUM!
Dear Heidi,
Enjoyed reading your post with all its witty and informative snippets. Lemon zest eh? Interesting phrase? Does this refer to lemon juice or to the lemon flesh/strands? It is a recipe that sparks creativity as we can already see in the comments :).
Toklas said:Pritya, lemon zest refers to the lemon rind or skin - specifically the yellow part (the white part is bitter). As far as I know most supermarkets in the US carry citrus zesters/graters/microplanes. Or you can do like I did before I bought a zester - shave bits of the rind off with a paring knife! Tedious work; better get a zester. :)
Heidi, another winner! I love your website; if not for the inspired recipes, then the lovely photographs!
Great recipe, Heidi - And beautiful cutlery.
What a creative salad! I love the beautiful Fall colors. My father grew the most wonderful swiss chard. Tender and sweet. I would love to have some for this dish.
That looks like an extra tasty one, Heidi. I like the idea of a much more savory pasta salad. Speaking of potluck friendly, here's a roasted cauliflower with sherry vinaigrette and fried capers that serves really well at room temp or a little warm.
Now that looks a lot more inviting than some of the sad pasta salads I've seen on buffets. Plenty of flavour going on there!
Hi,
Heidi!
It seems to be scrumcious.I need some chiness dishes's reciepies.Please do something for me.
I want to subcribe my self in ur mail service.
I so enjoy your site! Pasta salads are one of my favorite dishes as they are so versitile. Thanks for the photo of your lovely teapot, they are a favorite of mine.
Still in the Thanksgiving spirit, may I thank you for your incredible, delicious blog? You inspire me daily - both in the kitchen, and as a writer! Thank you!
- Astra Libris
http://foodforlaughter.blogspot.com
I read your blog all the time.. but I have YET to make any of the recipes that I've told myself I would.. I'm still stuck at those cauliflower popcorn things you posted a while back.... I'm telling myself I'll finally make those this week... then I can get started on all the other recipes you've posted, lol
i love to cook so i know i will love your recipes.
As soon as I read the words "hazelnut" and "chard," my jaw dropped - those are two of my all-time favorite ingredients!! especially during this season!! yum!!
Yum! Wish this blog went up before thanksgiving. The dish would have made the perfect addition to my sister's and my 101 cookbooks thanksgiving. We made the brussel sprouts, autumn millet bake, vanilla sweet potato mash, asparagus bread pudding, cheesy potato spoon bread and the butternut squash tart from your site. Veggies and meat-heads alike enjoyed every last dish. Thanks for making our holiday the best ever (or at least the one with the best food!)
This looks like a nice variation to eating pasta and salad heidi! the addition of hazelnuts catches my attention:)
This looks like a nice variation to eating pasta and salad heidi! the addition of hazelnuts catches my attention:)
Hope you had a great TG!!
-Mansi
http://funnfud.blogspot.com
i loved all your recipe it really is so well made with lots of thought and very healthy as well! I just started a video recipe site that shows ou step by step how to make stuff, www.ifoods.tv and i also started out as a blogger so it's great seeing other bloggers doing well, keep up the good work"
Heidi, this looks superb. you know how to make every food look scrumptious....
I think I could do this gluten-free....
Thanks, as always.
Please help me on this one. What is chard?
From an ignorant Brit living Athens Greece
Shauna, hi! Let me know if you eventually end up doing a GF version, I'll link back to it.
Heidi A-P, chard is a big, sturdy leafy green. Feel free to substitute whatever you can find in your local market....
Elizabeth, I'm so happy to hear that some of my recipes played a role in your Thanksgiving! Hope you had some help in the kitchen ;)
And Toklas, thanks for jumping in there with the zest explanation!
-h
This recipe is great! I LOVE a good salad and it's so hard to come up with something extra to give it that pop!
so beautiful salad
YUM!
Hi Heidi,
I recently discovered your site and just love it (and your cookbook). This salad looks fantastic--can't wait to try it. I think the mix of chard, squash and hazelnuts would be heavenly. As someone who can't eat wheat (just a sensitivity, not celiac), I'm wondering if I could find spelt of kamut-based ravioli?
And I love the pics of the silverware and china!
I made this recipe last night and it was a-maz-ing!
I substituted store-bought sweet sausage ravioli, which got a lovely brown crust while the chard wilted in the pan.
Definitely going to be a winter staple -- so many opportunities for different flavor combinations.
Thanks for the inspiration!
I made this and it is WONDERFUL. I just loved it exactly how you described it in your recipe, Heidi!
One question: When I tried to add my cooked (very fresh, flour-coated) ravioli to the nonstick pan, the ravioli fell apart and peices of it stuck to the bottom - do you know why this could have happened? Was my skillet too hot, not enough EVOO? It didn't even matter that much, the dish was still great. Thanks again for your wonderful recipes.
Wow, what an original salad, it looks fantastic.
love the pieces from your mom's collection. they are divine.
Had it last night for dinner. Exquisite! I think this is my favorite of the one-bowl meals.
Where can I find sweet onion & red chard ravioli in San Francisco? Thanks.
To Shauna A M:
I think chard is called παςι in Greek, but if you ask for σπανακι (spinach) in winter, chard is what you are likely to get. I think fresh walnuts will be available in Athens now, rather than hazelnuts, and will work well in this recipe.
Y
Sorry, I meant to respond to Heidi A-P, and mixed it up with another name...
Recently on 101 Cookbooks
