rice paper ravioli salad / March 5, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

rice paper ravioli? yes. wrap your heads around it people, it happened. and it was good. like, really good. believe it or not, rice paper is a great substitute for all things pasta. these are not the fresh, homemade raviolis i grew up eating from the Bronx, but they are a really great alternative. after doing some research on how to use rice paper as pasta i took to testing it out. i learned some valuable lessons that day that resulted in me getting a good bearing on how to treat these delicate little raviolis.

*just to note, if you are using wonton wrapper or egg roll wrappers you may want to research how you should treat the paper, it may be different from the directions i give below.

i put my raviolis over a salad, but they work in any capacity. you could totally use them in any authentic italian recipe, or use a pesto sauce, you could even go the sweet route and fill them with a nutella-like substance. the filling i chose was broccoli- ricotta puree. here i used tofutti ricotta cheese, which is soy based (you can easily substitute this with regular dairy ricotta). because i don't eat cheese, i left out reggiano cheese - which adds a certain depth of flavor to the filling - so i replaced it with a healthy amount of spices and salt. this was a fun little project, i hope you try them out some day!

:: makes 24 raviolis ::

prepare a large bowl with water (you will use this to dip the rice paper in)

prepare a platter or large plate with a coating of olive oil

for the ravioli //

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

8-10 ounces of broccoli (a small head of broccoli) cut into florets

1/2 cup ricotta

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or more to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano)

pepper to taste

12 pieces of rice paper

for the salad //

3 ounces mixed baby greens

a handful broccoli sprouts (or micro greens)

1 radish sliced thin

2 small beets, grated

1 tablespoon toasted pignoli nuts

dressing //

2 tablespoons basil oil

1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

salt to taste

directions //

toast pignoli nuts

prepare a medium saucepan with water that reaches 3/4 of the way up to the top and olive oil (the raviolis tend to stick to one another)

in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. add the broccoli, 1/2 cup of water, and 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, cover and cook over a low heat until tender, about 10-15 minutes. let cool. coarsely puree the broccoli in a food processor; transfer to bowl. stir in the ricotta, salt, red pepper, oregano, and pepper

prepare a work surface with water for dipping rice paper, and a platter coated with oil

dip the rice paper in the water, rotating it until it is completely wet, set it down on a large cutting board. using a small spoon, dollop 4 mounds of ricotta mixture onto the paper. take your second piece of rice paper, and dip in the water, wetting it completely. lay the top piece over the bottom piece - the paper takes about a minute to really soften - let it sit until soft. take a sharp knife or pizza cutter and cut into 4 equal pieces. here is the somewhat tricky part: you don't want a lot of air getting caught when you seal the ravioli, so make sure there is a hole to push the air out of (this sounds much more complicated than it actually is). next. use your fingers to press the pieces of rice paper together, creating a seal. take a round cookie cutter and cut out your ravioli. transfer to the oiled platter. repeat with remaining papers. i had extra filling leftover; i froze it for another time.

bring the water in your saucepan to a boil

2 at a time place the raviolis in the water, turn the heat to medium low - you want the water to boil but not so hard that it breaks the ravioli. after 1 1/2 - 2 minutes use a slotted spoon to remove the raviolis, place them back on the oiled platter until they are all cooked

repeat with remaining ravioli

let them cool while you assemble your salad. combine all salad ingredients, toss in the raviolis, dress with the basil oil dressing (you can also totally substitute this dressing with something else) and enjoy!

a good year / March 4, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

chocolate dipped granola bars / March 1, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

i'm not sure how many of you out there have tried, or heard of, 5 star bars..? they're small chocolate bars that come in various flavors like: caramel, peanut butter, fruit and nut, and my favorite, granola! it's the kind of chocolate bar that's so small that you don't feel that guilty eating it, but then once you take that last bite you're thinking "what did i just do?" basically, they're best eaten by two people, or - if you have enough willpower - save the last half for another time. in any event, the recipe here is inspired by the amazing 5 star granola bar. i didn't think i would come close to replicating it, and i didn't. i suppose i wanted to make a slightly healthier version of it - making it more granola bar with some chocolate, versus, a chocolate bar with some granola. i found the granola bar recipe from Whole Living Magazine. the bars are vegan (you just need to substitute the honey for agave) and gluten free. they're naturally sweetened with honey and unsweetened applesauce. plus, it's a recipe that can easily incorporate any additional flavors that you enjoy - i added shredded coconut and sliced almonds. i also thought the flavors in the bars were well suited for a layer of dark chocolate. turns out i was right. the lightly sweetened granola bars work really well the sweetness of (i used 65% cacao) dark chocolate. you may want to leave a few without chocolate; they're really good on their own as a breakfast bar or a snack.

adapted from Whole Living, December 2012

makes 15 bars

pre heat oven to 350°

line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and brush with olive oil (or coconut oil)

:: dry mix ::

3 cups gluten-free rolled oats

1 1/2 cups dried blueberries (or dried fruit of your choosing)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup (or more) shaved almonds

1 teaspoon course sea salt

:: wet mix ::

1/2 cup natural almond butter (at room temp, so it can soften a bit)

4 tablespoons ground flaxmeal

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup honey

3 tablespoons orange juice (i squeezed half of one orange, but you can just as easily use orange juice from your fridge)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

:: chocolate sauce ::

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

3-4 tablespoons almond milk (or milk of your choosing)

:: directions ::

in a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, dried blueberries, cinnamon, shredded coconut, almonds and sea salt

in a medium bowl, combine the almond butter, flaxmeal, applesauce, honey, orange juice, and vanilla extract

mix the wet ingredients into the dry, mix until combined

pour the mixture into the pan and press evenly with the back of a spatula

bake on the middle rack until golden brown, 30 minutes (halfway through i rotated the pan so that the granola would bake evenly)

let the granola cool completely, then remove from pan

cut evenly into 15 pieces (you can cut them bigger, i wouldn't cut them any smaller they may crumble and fall apart)

in a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and almond milk. melt on a low heat, checking every 5 seconds until half the chips are melted

whisk the mixture until combined

next, dunk a quater or half the bar into the chocolate and set aside. continue with the rest of the bars. place them in the refrigerator so the chocolate can settle - about an hour. i topped mine off with some fleur de sel

store in an air tight container

:: enjoy ::