Turkey Ravioli w Italian Kale Salad

About

Are you looking for a healthy Keto recipe that’s family-friendly? Try this cheese ravioli recipe with tomato sauce and Italian kale salad! These ravioli are made with slices of turkey breast instead of pasta. The cheese filling is made with a simple mixture of ricotta and mozzarella cheese with basil. At your discretion, you are welcome to add other Keto ingredients to the cheese filling that you’d enjoy. Just make sure to add any extra ingredients to your food log for accurate macro calculations. The ravioli is baked with an easy tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Served on the side is a simple kale salad that is massaged with salt and lemon juice. After the salad is dressed with Italian spices, you’re ready to serve! You can also enjoy this recipe as part of your Keto meal prep. Just keep the salad separate from the ravioli when you reheat them in your microwave.

How To Select The Turkey You Use

You can easily pick up pre-packaged turkey slices from any grocery store to make this Keto ravioli. The important thing to remember is to avoid flavors that include “honey” or “maple” in the name since this implies added sugar. Look for plain oven-roasted turkey, cajun, peppercorn, or Italian herb flavors for this recipe. If you’re ordering your turkey slices fresh from the deli, ask for slices that are about ¾-ounce in weight each. You can also ask for thin-sliced turkey, which you can double up on when wrapping your ravioli. Just make sure the weight comes out about the same.

How Massaging Kale Works

Kale is great for salads, but many find the dark leaves very bitter when left plain. Even fresh kale leaves should be dressed with oil and at least salt to remove that bitterness. Softer kale leaves are usually more palatable for most people, but you don’t want to cook the greens in this recipe! This is why you massage the kale to make a refreshing and texturally-satisfying salad to pair with the Keto ravioli. Massaging salt into the kale helps it release all its water, which is why the leaves begin the soften and wilt. Massaging the lemon juice into the kale with the salt helps marinate the greens as well to remove that bitter taste.

Ingredients

½ cup ricotta cheese, whole milk
½ cup, shredded mozzarella cheese
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
10 leaf basil
8 slices turkey breast sliced prepackaged or deli meat
1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
2 teaspoon olive or extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ tsp, chopped garlic
2 fl oz cream heavy whipping
⅛ cup chicken broth
1 dash salt
1 dash black pepper
⅛ teaspoon onion powder
1 tbsp, grated parmesan cheese
2 oz kale
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp, chopped garlic
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon italian seasoning

Instructions

Make the ravioli filling by mixing the ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, salt, pepper, and minced basil in a mixing bowl. Mix and fold together until you have a creamy, consistent filling. Arrange the turkey slices laid out flat. Fill the center of each turkey slice with about 1 ½ tablespoons of cheese filling. Fold each edge of the turkey slice over the filling to make a little square ravioli. Flip the folded ravioli over to lay it over its seam.
Melt the butter in a wide oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Once melted, place the ravioli in the butter one at a time, seam-side down. Let the ravioli fry undisturbed in the butter for 4-5 minutes. You may adjust the heat as necessary to avoid burning, but you want the toasted side of the ravioli to have a golden brown color. Use a spatula to gently transfer the toasted ravioli to a clean surface to rest temporarily.
Return the skillet to your stove, leaving any excess fat in it. Over low heat, add the olive oil, tomato paste, and garlic to the skillet. Stir the tomato paste around until it heats through the turns soft in the hot fats. Stir the broth into the skillet, followed by the heavy cream. Stir until you have a thick and creamy tomato sauce bubbling over low heat. Season the sauce with just pinches of salt, pepper, and onion powder. If you’ve increased the recipe yield, you can add ⅛ teaspoon of those spices to the sauce.
Keep the stove heat on low and turn your oven broiler on to high heat. Use your spatula to return the toasted turkey ravioli to the skillet full of tomato sauce. Nestle the ravioli in the sauce and you can even spoon a little sauce over each ravioli. Take the full skillet off the stove and sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the whole skillet. Place the skillet in your oven and leave it under the broiler for 4-5 minutes. Watch for the parmesan to turn lightly golden and the sauce around the edges of the skillet should bubble and brown.
Once the ravioli is done, you can leave it to rest on top of your warm stove while you quickly put together the Italian kale salad. Rip the fresh leaves of kale off the stems and chop the leaves into small pieces. The weight listed in the ingredients is the weight of the chopped kale only without stems. Add the chopped kale to a large mixing bowl and add salt and lemon juice to the bowl. Use your hands to massage the kale as it releases excess liquid and begins to wilt. You can massage the kale for up to 5 minutes, but stop when the kale reaches an enjoyable texture for your palate.
Once the kale is wilted, toss the kale with olive oil, garlic, black pepper, red pepper, and italian seasoning. At your discretion, you can add any extra Keto ingredients you would enjoy to this salad. This may include other spices or fresh herbs, vinegar of your choice, mozzarella cheese pearls, chopped nuts, avocado, or olives. Serve approximately 2 ½ ounces of kale salad with 4 ravioli per person, family-style.