Wonton Wrapper Ravioli

This recipe is painfully easy. It's also impressive. Easy + impressive = honkin' AWESOME in my book, though I don't know about you all.

Who makes their own ravioli? Awesome people, that's who. This recipe is great, because it's completely customizable. Do you have a meat lover in the family? Fill the ravioli with seasoned Italian sausage and mozzarella. Health conscious vegetarian? Fill the ravioli chock full of mushrooms, spinach, diced asparagus, olives or whatever other veggie tickles your fancy.

Here, I've chosen to blend healthy with, well, moderately healthy. Using cheese in any of your recipes will increase the caloric value of the meal, but some people loooove their cheese, me included.

Give this a try--the benefit outweighs the risk! I found out that using TWO wrappers per side of the ravioli makes for a sturdier, and less likely to burst pocket. I've shown you pictures of the carnage to prove my point...

Wonton Wrapper Ravioli

Adapted from ideas by Rachael Ray and around the Internet

Ingredients:

1 bunch of spinach, washed and chopped roughly

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 cup cottage (or ricotta, fancy pants) cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella, and extra for garnish, shredded

1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded

1 package wonton wrappers (the pack I used had 60 wrappers, each about 2"x2")

Procedure:

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, and when it begins to sizzle, add the spinach and saute for a few minutes, until wilted, then transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, Start a large pot of water boiling.

2. Combine the cheeses with the spinach until thoroughly mixed.

3. Prepare a floured surface for the wonton wrappers. Set a small bowl of water and a pastry brush (or you can use your finger) nearby. Lay out the wrappers on the surface (in stacks of two if you wanted them to hold together), side by side.

4. Place a dollop of the filling mixture in the center of each wrapper, then trace the outside 1/4" of the wrapper with a brush or finger dipped in water, and do the same to the wrapper you place on top, water sides facing each other.

5. Align and press down the top wrapper on the bottom wrapper. I chose to decorate the edges by going around them with a fork, but I didn't do the control experiment to see if they would hold together without the fork scoring. Sigh.

6. Place the sealed ravioli one at a time (to prevent initial sticking) carefully in the water, and allow them to boil for about 2 minutes. They will float to the top when ready (just like dumplings!).

7. Serve with your favorite pasta sauce (or whatever goes well with your filling of choice!).