Valentine's Day...in retrospect

I’ve always wanted to make homemade pasta. Pasta, to me, is THE ultimate comfort food and cutting into a delicious piece of stuffed pasta to uncover a tasty filling is HEAVEN! I made this dish for my beau J. for Valentine’s Day. Just a side note: I hate to say it but I’m anti-Valentine’s Day and since it fell on a Saturday I really…really…really didn’t want to battle the crowds of lovers heading to overrated restaurants…no thank you. Well back to the here and now…RAVIOLI would be the leading lady of the evening! I didn’t make the dough from scratch…I’ll save that for another day…I used wonton wrappers cause they’re so convenient and I’m down with that!

But what to stuff it with…hmmm…J.’s a big fan of cremini mushrooms so I thought, “aha, perfect” plus cheese…ricotta for texture and goat cheese cause it’s tangy! Truth be told I had a little help from Martha when it came to the cheese selection…but she’s got the right idea! Now for the good stuff:

Mushroom-goat cheese ravioli
1 tbls olive oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup chopped creminis
1 large shallot, chopped (opted out of garlic…Valentine’s Day and all…wink wink)
2 tsp fresh thyme
3 ounces of goat cheese
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta (whole milk ricotta would be too runny for the little pockets of goodness!)
salt and pepper
wonton wrappers (or fresh pasta)

Warm olive oil and red pepper flakes over medium heat for a minute or so, add chopped creminis and the chopped shallot. Stir occasionally until the mushrooms start to loose their moisture, about 5 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper for seasoning (not too much, the cheese adds a little saltiness) and the fresh thyme. Continue stirring for about 2 more minutes. Turn off heat and let the mushrooms cool.

While the mushrooms are cooling, add the goat cheese and ricotta cheese in a medium bowl and stir till incorporated. Now would be a good time to get the wonton wrappers together. On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet separate wrappers, work in batches so they don’t dry out, 6 at a time is a good number. Plus have a small dish of water on hand to seal the raviolis.

Add the cooled mushroom mixture to the cheese and stir to incorporate. Place a half a tablespoon of the mixture in the middle of a wrapper (not too much or it’ll come out while cooking). Wet your finger with water and go around the edges of the wrapper, now fold the closest corner of the wrapper over to the farthest corner, creating a triangle. Pinch the corners slightly and work around the wrapper to seal it, get out any excess air so the edges look flat and the filling in the middle is the only bulge you see. Continue until filling is all gone.

While you’re stuffin’ the ravioli get a big pot of salted water boiling. When the water is at a rapid boil reduce heat to a simmer (too much boiling could tear the lil’ guys). Add raviolis in batches, cooking each batch for 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel to drain and serve piping hot!

I served these pieces of heaven with roasted baby carrots and sautéed kale. But any veggie side would due. I also made a quick cream sauce with scallions. Cut 2 scallions in medium size chunks and add them to a skillet over medium heat with a pinch of salt and 2 tbls of water. Steam them for about 4 mins or until the water has evaporated. Reduce heat and add 1/4 cup heavy cream…stir occasionally for 4 more mins and taadaa…scallion cream sauce. Delish!