Mushroom Ravoli
These are really rich, so I suggest serving them with chicken or fish as a side dish – 2 or 3 per serving with a drizzle of good olive oil.
3/4 lb oyster, shitake or other mushrooms chopped
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small torpedo onion or 1/2 half small sweet onion sliced thinly
1 clove fresh garlic, sliced
12 grape tomatoes ( the yellow heirlooms are best) cut into quarters
8 oz fresh goat cheese or ricotta cheese (if using ricotta, do not use egg)
2-3 Tb finely grated Parmesan cheese. Save some for serving as well.
10 leaves fresh sage (1 tsp dried)
1 tsp fresh thyme (1/2 tsp dried)
1 egg slightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg of 50 wonton wrappers
Water
Heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté onion and garlic with a light sprinkling of salt at moderate heat until soft but not brown. Add mushrooms, stirring only when they are slightly brown on one side. When the mushrooms are soft, pour the mixture into a small bowl. Once the mixture has cooled, add tomatoes, sage and thyme and pulse in a food processor about 8 times until chopped and combined.
Combine goat cheese, egg, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a medium bowl, until smooth. Mix in the mushroom mixture. Adjust seasonings.
Place a piece of parchment onto a flat surface. Line up 25 wonton wrappers on the parchment and place a heaping teaspoon of the mushroom mixture on each. Wet about 1/4 inch of the edge of each wrapper with the water on your finger. Wet another wrapper and place it on top of the wrapper and the mixture. Lightly press the edges of each wrapper until there are no bubbles or wrinkles. if you are feeling insecure about only using the water, press the edges together with a fork, additionally.
Place a sheet of parchment onto each of two large baking sheets. Once you have all the ravioli assembled, use a thin spatula to lift them onto the baking sheets. Leaving them on the original piece during the flash freezing process has a tendency to make them stick to the paper. Carefully place them as flat as possible into the freezer. Do not stack them. Once they are frozen, you may place them into a freezer bag altogether for use at a later date. they are a bit easier to manage in the cooking process if they are at least refrigerated, if not frozen.
When ready to serve, place the ravioli in a large pot of boiling, salted water. When they rise to the top, they are done. This will take a very short time, only 2-3 minutes, so do not leave the kitchen once you have put them in the water.
Serve with a light sauce such as olive oil sautéed with a little fresh garlic and sage, salt and pepper. Shave more fresh Parmesan on top before serving.
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