I’m addicted to pasta. How can I help it? It’s in my blood! And I’ll be darned if I’ll let a little nightshade intolerance get in the way of making a delicious meal. ‘Vegetable starch’ laden pre-packaged pastas can go climb a tree, I’ll be over here with my homemade ravioli!
It’s the perfect food to savour, a pasta pouch packed to the brim with cheeses, vegetables, more cheese… smothered in your favourite sauce… seriously. Who doesn’t love ravioli? Some of the best ravioli I’ve ever had was full of lobster, so incredibly creamy and decadent…. ravioli is just the best!
One day I’ll have everything necessary to make my own pasta from scratch, but right now I’ll lovingly swaddle my ricotta in… won ton wrappers! You heard me! These little squares have been a lifesaver.
You’ll recognized this brand from my Crispy Crunch Egg Rolls post, the Nasoya wraps are nightshade free and can be found at Walmart or your grocery store (again, not sponsored, just awesome! And they gave me the idea for the recipe too, modified from their spinach ravioli recipe). Instead of the egg roll wraps this time, we’re getting the won ton ones.
You can really put anything you want in these, but today I’m putting spinach, onions and mushrooms. And ricotta of course – what, you thought I would leave out the most important part? psht. Other popular choices are lobster (obvs), other cheeses (like parmesan, romano, mozzarella), zucchini, garlic of course… really whatever you want. Make sure that whatever you use, you cut it up very small to ensure a more even distribution throughout the ravioli.
Cook them in a bit of oil or butter or water, enough to caramelize them and turn everything a little brown to really bring out the flavours.
Smells like heaven. Mmmmm ricotta cheese!
Mix the vegetables and cheese all together, trying to even it all out as much as possible. You want every single bite to be bursting with flavour.
Lay out the won ton sheets. I find it easiest to do it in an assembly line, a whole batch at a time. Not too many though, because as the wrappers dry out they get more difficult to work with.
Place about a tablespoon of your ricotta/veggie mixture in the very middle of your sheets. This part of the recipe is perfect for little kitchen helpers.
It goes by pretty quick!
All done!
Now, using a kitchen brush (or your finger like me, because I’m a REBEL), dampen all the sides of the sheet.
The moisture will act as a sort of glue when we put the tops on and seal all the goodness inside. I might have slightly over-stuffed these ones, but if you notice there’s too much it’s easy to just scoop back into the bowl from whence it came.
Place another sheet over top, and pinch all the edges together with your fingers.
You want to make sure the cheese is secure in the middle and not leaking out any of the edges. (Can I say pasta looks cute? Because these are so adorable.)
Now take a fork and press down all around the sides of the ravioli, really locking in that cheese and veggie mix!
As if it were possible for food to get cuter.
This part you want to do pretty quickly because as the sheets are exposed to the air, they dry out and are less likely to want to stick together, as I mentioned before.
All done!
VOICE OF EXPERIENCE: do no try to throw these in a pot of boiling water. They will fall apart. And while they are still delicious, we are not having ravioli soup for dinner.
The upside of baking though? Crispy delicious edges! YUM. All the crunch of a won ton with the deliciousness of ravioli.
Smother them in alfredo sauce, pesto… really whatever you want. There are no bad options here. Well, I mean, there are. But do what you want.
I had some alfredo sauce already made in the fridge, so it was easy to reheat and toss on these guys.
Right now I’m like a month ahead in my picture vs. posting schedule, so I haven’t had these for a while and now I’m craving them again. Thanks, self! They are heaven in food form.
- 1 pkg Nasoya Won ton wrappers (or equivalent)
- 1 24 oz . container ricotta cheese
- 3 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
- 1 8 oz . pkg button mushrooms
- 1 onion
- dash black pepper
- Recommended sauce: pesto or alfredo
- Feel free to get creative with the filling! Just make sure that everything is chopped finely and pre-cooked.
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Slice vegetables very thinly and cook in a frying pan until the edges are brown.
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Mix with the black pepper, ricotta and parmesan cheese in a separate bowl.
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Lay out the squares and fill with the ricotta and veggie mixture, approx. a tablespoon in the centre of each square. (See pictures above for pictorial instructions!)
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Wet the edges of each square with a finger or kitchen brush.
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Lay another square on top and pinch to seal the mixture inside, going all the way around.
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Using a fork, press down all around the ravioli, ensuring a more secure seal.
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Preheat the oven to 375°, and place ravioli on a greased baking sheet.
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Bake for 10-12 minutes.
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Serve with your favourite sauce!
This recipe was Best of the Best on the Turn it Up Tuesday Link-up!
