This was loosely inspired by the tortelloni I had at Alana’s a few weeks ago, being that it included sweet peas and goat cheese. Unfortunately, I was unable to spend the time to scout out fresh sweet peas, and thus resorted to frozen peas and lima beans. I really wanted fresh sweet peas and fava beans but alas, we can’t always have what we want, now can we? I have a few months still before the local sweet peas are ready.
At any rate, the other day husband and I were having some friends over for a cookout and we bought Texas 1015 sweet onions for grilling. They were so tasty that everyone took some for their burgers and some to eat on the side. I will have to try a stuffed onion with them sometime... We were trying to figure out what the 1015 meant, and my friend suggested that was the date they were picked and we all ridiculed him for silliness. As it turns out, 10/15 is the day they are supposed to be planted! Not so silly after all.
I employed Ina Garten’s suggestion for roasting out of season tomatoes to improve their flavor, but I think I would just leave them out if I did this again. You know how you get that urge to have something and you know you should just forget it but somehow you think this time it will be different? It won’t. A tomato in April in Ohio is not a tomato at all.
The instructions may look long, but I assure you, this dish is incredibly easy to make.
And so, here’s the recipe:
12 Wonton wrappers
1/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1 oz goat cheese
1 egg yolk
oregano, Italian herb blend, or herbes de Provence
salt
pepper
1/2 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, WallaWalla or Texas 1015, sliced
1 clove garlic, mashed
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
splash red wine (optional)
1 tsp butter
Lima beans, sweet peas, and asparagus
parmesan cheese for finishing, optional
Make your caramelized onions: Preheat a skillet over medium heat and spray with olive oil spray (or cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil), and add your onions. Stir for a few seconds until they brown slightly and then season with salt. Continue to cook the onions, deglazing your pan as it gets dry with a few splashes of chicken stock. You might want to turn the heat to medium-low if you find that the onions start to brown. Add the mashed garlic clove about 10 minutes into this process. When the onions are very soft, turn the heat up and add a splash of red wine and the butter; stir to combine and keep the onions warm until ready to use.
Make your raviolis: In the bowl of a food processor, blend the ricotta, goat cheese, egg yolk, and herbs until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To fill your raviolis, lay 6 wrappers on a paper towel and brush around the edges with water. Place a tablespoon of filling in each center and cover with another wrapper, pressing the air out from the center and being sure to seal the edges; set aside.
Prepare your veggies according to your taste; I use one pan full of salted water and add what takes the longest to cook, in this case the lima beans, and then add the peas after 10 minutes, and then the fresh asparagus after another 2 minutes. Then 3 minutes and they were done. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
Finish the dish: Bring 2 1/2 quarts water to a boil in a large sauce pan and generously salt. Stir the water to get a whirlpool going - this will help keep the raviolis from sticking to each other - add the raviolis to the pan slowly, stirring gently so they don’t stick to each other or fall to the bottom of the pan and stick there. You might have to cook the raviolis in 2 batches. They will take about 2 minutes to cook and will float to the surface when ready; remove with a slotted spoon. Top the raviolis with the caramelized onions and veggies. Grate a little parmesan and salt over, if desired.
