Ravioli with variety
Sometimes you just want to eat something that tastes good, regardless of its nutritional value.This is one of those recipes.
I’ve never been a fan of canned ravioli. Sure it’s convenient when you’ve got three screaming little kids who are going to “starve to death” if you don’t provide them with instant food, but it certainly doesn’t have anything in the way of taste. Don’t blame the manufacturers though. Imagine the difficulty in the challenge of the task of putting pasta and cheese and sauce in a can, maintaining freshness, and having good taste all at the same time.
If you’re not in a hurry, surrounded by squawking baby birds, you can whip up a batch of these delicious fried ravioli and have enough to freeze for those harried days down the road…you know they’re coming, they always do.
The earliest mentions of ravioli appear in the writings of Francesco di Marco, a 14th Century Italian merchant. In Libro per cuoco, he wrote about ravioli of green herbs blanched and minced, mixed with beaten egg and fresh cheese, simmered in broth.
Work with this recipe. If you’re not fond of spinach or artichokes (they are among my favorites), leave them out. Put in some mashed potatoes if you like that. Try pureed butternut squash. Fill it with your favorites and make something different every time.
Fried Ravioli
24 wonton skins, cut in half
15 ounce container of ricotta
4 ounces of prepared spaghetti sauce
1 egg
6 ounces of mozzarella, grated
1/4 teaspoon each of basil, oregano, nutmeg
8 ounce bag of spinach
4 ounce can of artichoke hearts
8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
Oil for frying
· Put butter in a medium skillet and melt .Add spinach, mushrooms and spices, stir in spaghetti sauce.
· As soon as the spinach has wilted, take the pan off the heat, set aside.
· Mix egg, ricotta, mozzarella, salt and pepper. When spinach mixture has begun to cool mix It in with the cheese mixture.
· Place a table spoon of the mix in the center of one half of each half wonton.
· Fold the unfilled half over to make a pocket. Moisten all sides with a bit of water and push the sides together tightly around the filling.
· Put just a bit of oil in the bottom of the pan and heat it until a sprinkle of water dropped into the pan dances across the surface. Fry for about 3 minutes and flip the ravioli to fry the other side.
· Remove, soak up any excess oil and sprinkle the tops with some parmesan cheese. If you are feeling adventurous, add a bit of mozzarella on top.
· You can dip the ravioli in spaghetti sauce or alfredo sauce.
Vegetarian.
15 ounce container of ricotta
4 ounces of prepared spaghetti sauce
1 egg
6 ounces of mozzarella, grated
1/4 teaspoon each of basil, oregano, nutmeg
8 ounce bag of spinach
4 ounce can of artichoke hearts
8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
Oil for frying
· Put butter in a medium skillet and melt .Add spinach, mushrooms and spices, stir in spaghetti sauce.
· As soon as the spinach has wilted, take the pan off the heat, set aside.
· Mix egg, ricotta, mozzarella, salt and pepper. When spinach mixture has begun to cool mix It in with the cheese mixture.
· Place a table spoon of the mix in the center of one half of each half wonton.
· Fold the unfilled half over to make a pocket. Moisten all sides with a bit of water and push the sides together tightly around the filling.
· Put just a bit of oil in the bottom of the pan and heat it until a sprinkle of water dropped into the pan dances across the surface. Fry for about 3 minutes and flip the ravioli to fry the other side.
· Remove, soak up any excess oil and sprinkle the tops with some parmesan cheese. If you are feeling adventurous, add a bit of mozzarella on top.
· You can dip the ravioli in spaghetti sauce or alfredo sauce.
Vegetarian.
