I had never made raviolis before; well, I guess I did assist Husband once when we first purchased the French Laundry cookbook. Although homemade pasta does taste better, I guess, wontons are so easy that if you are looking for something different but still relatively quick, they are a great alternative. Just wet the edges with a little water to seal. They cook up in almost an instant and there really is no end to your filling options. You can find wonton wrappers in the produce section, near the asian veggies, or of course at your local asian market. If you have a place that makes and sells fresh pasta in your area, you can sometimes purchase pasta sheets (for a good deal more money) that will have a more familiar texture; wonton wrappers are dusted with starch to keep them from sticking together in the packaging, and the surface area is different from regular pasta.
10 square wonton wrappers
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes (about 6-7) reconstituted in boiling water, or according to package directions, finely chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 medium shallot, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
Cooking spray
2 tsp butter, divided
1/3 ricotta cheese
1 oz ricotta salata (pressed, salted ricotta; if you can’t find, substitute fresh mozzarella), finely shredded
One egg yolk
Directions:
Place one cup of chicken stock in a wide, shallow saute pan on medium-high to high heat and allow to reduce while you are doing everything else. When it reduces by 3/4, add a little more chicken stock and keep cooking. On your second addition, add the balsamic vinegar, keeping an eye on it as the balsamic will burn quickly.
Pre-heat a small saute pan over medium heat, then spray with cooking spray or drizzle with oil. Add shallots and garlic and sweat them until soft, 5 minutes or so. Stir in one tsp of butter and set aside, or keep warm on low heat.
Into a food processor place your ricotta, ricotta salata, egg yolk, sun dried tomatoes, and garlic & shallot mixture. Add a good pinch of kosher salt, and grind in a few twists of freshly ground pepper (small pinch). Whiz until well blended.
Mount chicken stock/balsamic with 1 tsp butter. You should have about 1/3 cup sauce.
Fill wontons and boil 3 minutes. Toss into chicken stock sauce; raviolis will be just barely covered.
Eat and enjoy.
