Ravioli Appetizer Pops

Late June. The international project week three: Italian pasta with shiso pesto. My invention from years ago, now perfected: shiso leaves, walnuts, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, blended into a bright green paste that smells like Japan and Italy and Portland all at once. The pesto is spread on spaghetti and the spaghetti is served with a sprinkle of sesame seeds (not Italian, but right) and the meal is the hyphen, the hyphen is the meal, and Miya twirls the spaghetti and says "oishii" because the word applies to all food that is good, regardless of country of origin.

I have been thinking about what I will cook for Fumiko's anniversary. August marks five years since she died — five years of grief and cooking and learning and the slow, patient work of turning a dead woman's recipe cards into a living practice. Five years. The number is a hand. Five fingers. Each finger a year. Each year a loss. Each loss a recipe. Each recipe a recovery. The hand opens and the hand holds and the holding is the cooking and the cooking is the memorial.

The book is moving through final production. The publisher sent the finalized cover — slightly revised from the earlier proof, the steam rising from the bowl more prominent, my name in a clean serif font, the title in a slightly larger size. The cover is an object now, a real thing, a thing that will exist on shelves in bookstores that I have walked through and browsed and never, not once, imagined my own name on the spine. The spine is where the name goes. The spine is the thing you see when the book is shelved. The spine is the part that faces out. My name will face out. Fumiko's story will be behind my name, inside the cover, between the pages, the way Fumiko was always behind me, inside the cooking, between the grief and the grace.

After a week of watching Miya twirl shiso pesto spaghetti and declare it oishii — good, simply good, regardless of origin — I wanted to keep the Italian thread going in a form small enough to hold in one hand, the way grief and gratitude both tend to live. These Ravioli Appetizer Pops are bite-sized and shareable, perfect for a table where the cooking is the memorial and the meal is the hyphen. I’ll be making a batch come August, five fingers wrapped around a skewer, one for each year.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 24 pops

Ingredients

1 package (20 oz) refrigerated cheese ravioli
1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons olive oil (for baking) or neutral oil for frying
1 cup marinara sauce, warmed, for serving
24 short wooden skewers or sturdy toothpicks

Instructions

Cook the ravioli. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook ravioli according to package directions until just tender, about 4–5 minutes. Drain gently and spread in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.
Set up your breading station. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In a second shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.
Bread the ravioli. Working one at a time, dip each ravioli into the egg mixture, letting any excess drip off, then press firmly into the breadcrumb mixture to coat both sides. Set on a clean baking sheet. Repeat with all ravioli.
Cook until golden. To bake: preheat oven to 400°F. Brush both sides of the breaded ravioli lightly with olive oil and arrange in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 12–14 minutes, flipping once halfway, until deep golden and crisp. To pan-fry: heat 1/4 inch of neutral oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry ravioli in batches 2–3 minutes per side until golden. Drain on paper towels.
Skewer and serve. While still warm, thread one ravioli onto each skewer or toothpick. Arrange on a platter around a small bowl of warm marinara sauce for dipping. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Ravioli Appetizer Pops — Little Bites for the Hyphen Between Worlds