Meal Plan Monday: Weeknight Turkish Manti

Welcome to another Meal Plan Monday!

It's been a good but crazy week.  This whole pregnant-with-a-toddler thing is no joke! Z is just about to turn 2 years old - and, boy, can you tell. Overnight, he wants to do everything himself.  I'm not sure which one of us is learning more patience - him or me!

Looking ahead to next week, we have two nights that will be largely taken up by a worship band rehearsal and then a Good Friday service.  As a result, I'm keeping the menu fairly quick and simple. Each of these meals only takes 30 minutes at most, and making larger batches ensures that we can have a couple of nights off when it comes to making dinner.

As always, this week's menu is based on what's on sale and we plan to make enough to eat each meal at least twice.

I was looking over the sales for this week and I started to get excited. There are deep discounts on ravioli, Greek yogurt, butter, and fresh herbs.

This can only mean one thing - manti is on the menu.

::Steps away from the computer to do a happy dance::

This Turkish pasta dish features the flavors of beef, garlic, paprika, mint, butter, and yogurt.

Yummm ...


I first had manti when Hubs and I discovered our favorite restaurant, which served Greek, Turkish, and Italian food. I've never meet a pasta or dumpling that I didn't like - and this was no exception. The flavor combination is wonderfully different (for someone from my neck of the woods, anyway).  Sadly, the restaurant has since closed down. I still mourn the loss ... but I digress.  I wasn't about to let the restaurant's landlord dictate whether I had manti in my life or not - so I learned to make it myself.

While this recipe is obviously not going to be truly authentic (which would involve making the dumplings yourself), it's certainly a less labor-intensive option that you can put together on a weeknight, and it's pretty darn close!








Ingredients
1 package frozen organic beef ravioli (about 10 oz)
1 cup organic Greek yogurt
3 large cloves of garlic, crushed with a garlic press or minced very finely
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped in ribbons and separated
1 Tbs. smoked sweet paprika

Directions
1. Prepare the ravioli according to the manufacturer's directions.
2. Meanwhile, stir the garlic into the yogurt. Cover it and set it aside to give the flavors time to mingle.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and stir in the paprika. Keep warm with the burner on low heat.
4. Toss half mint into the ravioli pot when it's just about done. Then remove from heat and drain, keeping the mint.
5. To serve, transfer the ravioli onto a serving plate and top with the yogurt sauce. Drizzle the paprika butter over it and garnish with the extra mint for added flavor and color.
6. Enjoy!