Pea Ravioli

I love Italian food because it's full of flavor, it's hearty, and it can be really healthy! One of my favorite Italian dishes is ravioli. Ravioli is really versatile because you can stuff it with anything! I like mine with pine nuts and arugula! People think that Italian food is really hard to make, but it can be really easy. Since we had a bag of frozen peas in our freezer, I decided to try and make pea ravioli. Here's how to make it.

Post by Lizzie Marie Cuisine.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups fresh shelled or frozen peas
1 package wonton wrappers (usually in the refrigerated healthy food section of stores)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 small shallot, minced
2 – 3 dashes red pepper flakes – NOTE: if you do not like spicy food, do NOT add flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sprinkling of parmesan-reggiano cheese, grated
To taste, salt and pepper
Small cup of water

Heat olive oil over a medium heat in a small pan and sauté shallot and red pepper flakes for 2 – 3 minutes until shallots are translucent. Be careful shallots do not brown. Remove pan from stove and let cool. Bring a medium-sized pot of water to boil. Place a metal strainer into a pot of boiling water (watch my video for this step) and pour peas into strainer to blanche. Put a pot holder over strainer handle and cook peas for 3 – 4 minutes. Pick up strainer with peas out of pot and set into an ice bath (a large bowl of ice water) for a couple of minutes (this will keep the peas bright green and stop the cooking process). Lift strainer out of ice bath and drain water. Keep the pot of hot water so you can cook the ravioli in it, turn the heat down to medium to keep the water hot.

In a food processor, blend together ricotta, drained peas, shallot/oil mixture, salt, pepper and a small handful of parmesan cheese. Blend together until creamy. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper to your liking. Lay out a few wonton squares on cutting board and dip your finger into the cup of water. Moisten two sides of a wonton (watch video for this step). Place about 1 tablespoon of pea mixture into center of wonton and fold wonton in half to form a triangle. Press two sides together and seal tightly. Bring pot of water to a soft boil and place about 6 wontons (depending on the size of your pot) into boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes. If pea mixture leaks out of ravioli, use a little less filling in the next batch of ravioli. Carefully scoop out ravioli with a slotted spoon to drain off water.

Serve ravioli on a plate with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper and a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese. A great side dish is fresh salad. Extra pea filling can be served on crostini.

They were really yummy and light! The wonton wrappers came out perfectly and the peas added a sweetness to the dish. Have some fun and try baking the ravioli instead. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Brush ravioli lightly with olive oil and place on a silpat in a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. They are perfect pillows of tastiness!

What sort of things do you like in your ravioli? Send me a tweet @TheLizzieMarie.

Thanks for reading!
Lizzie Marie