Spinach and Cheese Ravioli

So, we've been into the homemade pasta lately... but we didn't have nearly the time to deal with that this evening. However, in these Spinach and Cheese Ravioli, wonton wrappers came to the rescue and helped speed things along! While you don't get quite the same result as if you were to use pasta dough, Jeff and I have found them to be easy to work with and have been pretty satisfied with the results when we've used them in the past!

With the help of our food processor, the filling was quite a snap to prepare! The mozzarella, Asiago and cottage cheeses were tossed into the processor bowl with a couple cloves worth of sautéed minced garlic, dried oregano, black pepper, a pinch of fresh grated nutmeg and thawed frozen spinach. With just enough added milk to thin it slightly, a few short pulses was all it took to bring the cheesy stuffing together.

To keep the wonton wrappers pliable, keep them covered with a damp towel or saran wrap while you work with them one at a time. With a small scoop of the filling placed on top, the ravioli are formed by brushing two of the edges with egg white, then folding two opposite corners together to form a triangle. Be sure you give the edges a sturdy pinch so the filling doesn't go and leak out while cooking. It does take some time to get 36 of them together, but if you set it up assembly style, it does seem to fly by - especially when Jeff decided to join in on the fun!

Once you have a tray full of the tidy triangles and are ready to cook them, ease them into the salted boiling water in three batches - this way you won't crowd the pot and drop the temperature dramatically. You'll also have less sticking issues since the ravioli has plenty of room to bounce around. Now that they are tender and warm, we dressed them with heated marinara for a simple sauce - homemade or jarred doesn't matter, just make sure it's a sauce you know you like! I usually make a big batch every few weeks and stash it in 1/2 or 1 cup portions in the freezer for easy access later on. If you would like to take care of these ahead of time, you could either leave the assembled ravioli in the refrigerator for up to a day, well covered, or place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet (in a single layer) and pop them into the freezer. Just note you might need an extra minute or two when cooking them from frozen.

Recipes
Spinach and Cheese Ravioli