Saturday, March 14, 2009

Goat Cheese and Pine Nut Ravioli


Short on time and need to make an impressive meal for two? This goat cheese ravioli is just what you're looking for! There are very few ingredients, ridiculously easy to make, and most importantly they look beautiful! By substituting homemade ravioli pasta dough with store-bought wonton wrappers, you save yourself a LOT of time and energy. The wonton wrappers also means that the final product tastes much lighter than the average ravioli, which means you still have room for dessert! I got this recipe from here, but I changed it slightly to add more flavor.
Tip: Crushed Garlic - you don't have to crush fresh garlic yourself! Buying a jar of pre-crushed garlic saves time and you can keep it in your fridge to have it on hand all the time!
Tip: Crushing Pine Nuts - put your already-toasted pine nuts in a plastic bag and crush them with the bottom of a mug

Ingredients:
3 ounces goat cheese
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp parsley (preferably fresh, but dried is just fine)
1/4 cup lightly-toasted, crushed pine nuts
plus one handful of lightly toasted pine nuts for garnish
1 package square wonton wrappers
olive oil (just enough to lightly drizzle on top of finished ravioli)
pinch salt and pepper

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together goat cheese, ricotta, garlic, pine nuts, and parsley until smooth; season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine.

2. Assemble ravioli: Arrange 6 wrappers (to start out, you can add more as you go with remaining filling) on work surface, keeping remaining wrappers covered with a damp (not soaking! Just barely wet!) towel. Spoon 1 level teaspoon filling in the center of each wrapper. With a fingertip, wet edges of wrappers with water. Fold a corner of each wrapper over filling to form a triangle, and press edges to seal. Flatten area around filling to eliminate air pockets. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. (If making ahead, cover ravioli with plastic wrap; refrigerate up to 1 day.) To see how they are assembled, see this image from the site that I got the recipe from.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; reduce to a bare simmer. Drop ravioli into water, one at a time, stirring them gently to prevent sticking. Cook 5-7 minutes.

4. Using a slotted spook, transfer ravioli to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet, and arrange in a single layer to drain briefly. Divide between two plates and drizzle lightly with olive oil and top with toasted pine nuts. Serve!

No comments: