Instant Gratification

I love food that just keeps on giving. I recently found a way to turn a 10-minute-prep lunch into a 5-minute-prep breakfast, both of which left a warm gingery spot in my stomach.

On a trip to Whole Foods, I bought one package of green-and-white-striped ravioli stuffed with basil and goat cheese and another package of orange-and-white-striped ravioli stuffed with asparagus and gruyere, not knowing exactly what I would do with either. Here is the recipe that suggested itself:

Basil-infused olive oil
Shitake mushrooms, sliced
Piece of ginger root, minced
Shallot, minced
Asparagus, cut on the diagonal in small pieces
Basil and goat cheese ravioli
Asparagus and gruyere ravioli
Chicken broth
Fresh basil leaves

Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a heavy saucepan on medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, ginger, shallots, and asparagus and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken broth and ravioli and bring to a boil. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the ravioli are thoroughly heated through. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.

That was lunch, not filling but extremely satisfying. There was about a cup and a half left that went into the refrigerator.

This morning I woke up craving a poached egg – just one, and not with bread but with something that had a rich flavor.

So out came the leftover soup and a beautiful brown egg. When the broth with its one lone ravioli was bubbling, I slipped the egg in to let it poach in a bath of ginger-flavored chicken broth.

Just at the point when the egg began to set, I poured the whole thing into a bowl and voili! I had breakfast soup that was heavenly. I didn’t even miss the carbs of an English muffin. The threads of shitake mushroom and bits of ginger more than compensated.

Try it and you too can have a delicious lunch and breakfast with very little effort! I leave it to you to decide how much you want of any ingredient. This is one of those very forgiving recipes.