Sweet Peas for my Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea Ravioli

When you’re in the mood for something like ravioli, you don’t have to go looking in the freezer section or spend your money at a restaurant. When I get the itch for ravioli I head straight for the supermarket! This time, I thought I’d fill it with some sweet peas for my sweet pea.  Making homemade ravioli not only looks impressive, but is incredibly simple and wonderfully fresh-tasting. Create a great shortcut for yourself by using Wonton Wrapper pasta sheets (you can find them in almost every supermarket) and frozen sweet peas (they are frozen at the very peak of their freshness and taste delish!), and you’ve got an elegant meal in no time. Create a simple sauce with just one pint of bursting cherry tomatoes and sliced garlic and you’re transported straight to flavor town!

You could also make tortellini, which is what I did with the leftover pasta sheets and filling (I’ll give you the how –to at the end of the ravioli recipe). To be totally honest, you may have to control yourself from eating this filling with a spoon! For those of you who have never had the pleasure of the magical combination that is peas and mint, it may quickly become one of your favorites! You could also use it as a dip, spread on a sandwich or appetizer on top of some toasted baguette slices. You’ll notice that this recipe makes a lot of filling, but it’s so delicious and versatile that I love to have extra on hand.

For the filling:

One box of frozen sweet peas

One large clove of garlic, chopped

¼ cup fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese

3 tablespoons part skim ricotta cheese

1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint (that’s about 8 medium-large leaves)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Simple Sauce:

Sprinkle of olive oil

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 large clove of garlic, sliced or diced

To wrap the ravioli you need:

Wonton wrappers

Damp paper towel

Small bowl of water

To create the filling, you will need to first cook the frozen peas. Most packages of frozen peas now come with a bag that you can steam the peas right in the microwave. If not, just drop them right into some boiling water for about 3 minutes. While the peas cook, throw a few chunks of Pecorino Romano into a food processor (so much easier than the cheese grater arm workout). Don’t forget to save a little for later to sprinkle on top. Strain the peas and then throw them right into the food processor with the garlic, ricotta, chopped mint and olive oil. Give the mixture a whirl until it begins to form a puree (don’t worry if it doesn’t catch all of the peas, I like mine a little chunky so that you can still tell there are peas in there).  Once the puree has formed, taste it and add salt and pepper accordingly giving it one more whirl in the processor.

To fill your ravioli, create a little assembly line. I find that doing it on a cutting board is easiest with a landing plate next to it for your filed ravioli. Remove some wonton wrappers from their package and place between a damp paper towel so they do not dry out. . I like to suggest about 8-10 ravioli per person if this is your main course (5 for a side dish).   

Place a small dollop (I use a teaspoon) into the middle of the pasta sheet. Dip your finger in the water and spread along two adjacent sides, folding the dry sides to seal (as if you were going to seal an envelope). Make sure to try and press gently squeezing out as much air as possible. If you want to get a little fancy you can crinkle the edges with the back of a fork.

While the water boils, heat up a medium-sized saucepan with a sprinkle of olive oil. Add the cherry tomatoes, once they begin to burst lower the heat and add the garlic and sauté together making sure not to let the garlic turn brown. Once the garlic is cooked slightly, turn of the heat. When the salted water is boiling gently drop the ravioli in one at a time. Since the wonton sheets are so thin they will only take about 3 minutes to float to the top.  With a slotted spoon, gently scoop out the ravioli and place them directly into the saucepan with the tomatoes. Plate your ravioli and sprinkle the remaining Pecorino on top. Simply delicious!

If you want to get REALLY fancy, by adding just a few more steps you can turn this ravioli into tortellini. After folding the ravioli in half into a triangle, take the point (the one that makes a 90 degree angle), brush it with water and fold it up onto the portion of the pasta with the filling.

Pick up the pasta with the folded point facing you. Gently take the 2 ends, wetting one, and folding underneath the dry end.

Voila! Tortellini!