Homemade Ravioli

This was a Martha Stewart "Quick Ravioli" recipe that is not so quick. It is faster than making the pasta sheets yourself but not a 30 minute meal either. This recipe is still somewhat time-consuming, but worth the effort. It makes dozens so it is perfect for a nice dinner for hosting a small group or a special occasion for a significant other. It also works great for leftover won tons or egg roll wrappers that you struggle to use before they go dry.

My mother and I have since revamped Martha's recipe to include more goody fillings and some variations on sauces. A friend reminded me of these raviolis when I realized I don't have a big variety of vegetables in my recipes, especially broccoli. When it occurred to me that my ravioli recipe is vegetarian, I was so excited to post it.

Homemade Ravioli

1/2 pint of ricotta cheese

Italian herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, etc)

1 pint mushrooms, preferably baby bellos

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 head broccoli, steamed

garlic salt/pepper

Parmesan cheese (optional)

1 pack of egg roll sheets (available in the vegetarian section)

2 chicken or vegetable bullion cubes

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

fresh basil

1/4 cup olive oil

Steam broccoli by snipping broccoli florets from the stem and laying them in a single layer in a steam basket over a shallow pot of boiling water. Cover and check on after 5 minutes. When broccoli is bright green and tender it is done. If you do not have a steam basket you can put broccoli in a Ziplock bag with some water (1 inch) and microwave for one minute. This is not preferred since cooking plastic can put toxins in your food, but there are great alternatives that are now on the market.

Preheat oven 400 degrees and toast walnuts until fragrant, no more than 10 minutes. Sauté mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil and minced garlic over medium heat. Season with garlic salt and pepper. I love garlic but if you think fresh, minced and garlic seasoning are too much, just use coarse salt and pepper to season. Chop broccoli florets and mushrooms and add to 1/2 cup ricotta cheese. Mix well, adding Italian seasoning or fresh Italian herbs, if available. If you want to use some grated parm to add a little more taste, do a few tablespoons in the ricotta mix.

Martha uses won ton wrappers for her ravioli, which I did for the longest time, but find that they are much more time-consuming. I take one egg roll wrapper and cut in half with a pizza cutter, or any straight cutter, and fill one side of the half-wrapper with one tablespoon mix. I wet a square around the mix and fold over. The won ton wrappers are not square and are more likely to break when boiling. Do not use more than 1 tbsp of the mix or the ravioli will bust from the moisture of the ricotta. Since this is the most time-consuming part of the meal you will allow plenty of time for the wrappers to stick together before you boil them.

Start a pot of boiling water and add a bullion cube. The chicken adds the most flavor but if you are a strict vegetarian the vegetable bullion also adds flavor. Boil no more than three raviolis at at time or they will get too crowded or you might lose them. Time the raviolis for 2-3 minutes. It will not take long for them to boil and over boiling will cause them to break. These are very delicate raviolis so be careful and don't get frustrated. Pile the raviolis on top of one another on a rimmed plate to keep them moist while you boil the rest. Do not put down a paper towel because they will stick.

Serve raviolis with 1/2 tbsp olive oil, toasted walnuts and julienne-cut basil or some more parm if you prefer. For a lighter sauce use 1/4 cup pasta water with 1-2 tbsp of pesto.