Wanton Ravioli: Spinach and Mushroom

Life is hectic. Plan as much as we want, sometimes things come up that throw off an entire day's schedule. Be it the traffic jam driving home from work, the afternoon meeting that goes on waaaay longer than any meeting ever should, and in my line of work, the protocol that normally takes only 2 hours to complete but this time took 5 because someone else used all my reagents (with-out asking mind you) and didn't care to replace them. Either way, the end result is getting home from work around 6.30 and then having to think of what to do for dinner. Most people would either go out for fast food, throw a Lean Cuisine in the microwave, or make up some ramen. But I steer clear of fast food as much as possible, don't do boxed frozen dinners, and try to keep ramen only for emergencies. So what's a guy to do, besides get a wife who'll cook for him starve?

NO! Ravioli! Ravioli are great for a number of reasons, but the most important one in this case is that they freeze wonderfully. All you need to do is make some up one weekend, and on those days when you get home late just boil up a pot of water, throw some in straight from the freezer, and add your choice of sauce. The second reason ravioli is great is the sheer number of different fillings you can use, although this can become a point of intimidation for some. And thirdly, ravioli can be incredibly easy to make. In this case, I found some wanton wrappers on mangers special and snagged them for just this purpose, although I'll probably do a post sometime about making your own pasta dough from scratch.

Spinach and Mushroom Wanton Ravioli:
1 package wanton wrappers
1/2 cup ricotta
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/2 package frozen spinach
1 or 2 crimini mushrooms, finely diced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten

1. Cook the spinach according to the instructions on the package, drain very, very well. Add to a bowl with the mushroom, cheeses, and salt. Mix with a fork or utensil of choice.

2. Lay out your ravioli making station (you have one right? no? ok, see mine below).

You'll notice that I'm using my Silpat on my sheet pan. The purpose is to prevent the ravioli from freezing to the pan. You can also use parchment paper but its a bit of a waste unless you make A LOT of ravioli.

3. Brush the wanton wrappers lightly with the beaten egg, then add small spoonfuls of the filling (about a heavy teaspoon).

4. Take another wrapper and lay it on top of the filling and bottom wrapper. Starting at one end, press firmly with your fingers toward the filling, trying to press as much air out as possible. Seal the ravioli at the far end and go around the edges pressing as firmly as possible starting from the center and going outwards.

5. Optional: I generally cut a bit of the edge off from each side because they often get dried out and don't seal well, you don't need to do this if you don't want/need to.

6. Place the sheet pan in the freezer for at least an hour. After that, slide the ravioli into a freezer bag and store for no more than 3 months or so (mine rarely last a week, but by 3 months you'll probably be looking at freezer burn).

To prepare later, just bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (a little olive oil added to the water will help keep the ravioli from sticking but isn't necessary). When the water is at a rolling boil, add a few ravioli straight from the freezer, no more than 6 to keep the water from cooling too much. When they float to the top, fish them out with a slotted spoon or utensil of choice and transfer to a warm plate or bowl (OK, warm dinner ware is optional, but it will keep your current ravioli warm while making more). Top with your favorite sauce ( a recipe for which will come later) and enjoy.

Now, I know this isn't the most adventurous recipe for ravioli, or even wanton ravioli, out there. It is however a fairly simple and easy to make recipe that opens itself up to a number of wonderful additions and substitutions. In this instance, I used 1/4 cup of ricotta, and 3 oz. of a chevre I picked up on managers special. The spinach and mushrooms were only chosen because I generally keep both on hand since they're highly versatile. Really, this is just a great framework for anyone who loves ravioli, doesn't want to overpay for store bought or restaurant food, and wants a quick and simple weeknight meal they can throw together in a matter of minutes. Hopefully it will inspire some of you out there to try your own combinations... and for my foodie purist friends who are balking at the use of wanton wrappers, don't worry, I plan on doing it the "real" way soon.

Salmon with mushrooms and spaghetti squash in saffron sauce

Proving that I do more than bake, I'm offering my first "dinner" recipe. Now, I meant to have this posted last night, but I just started Netflix and got my first disc of the old Doctor Who series, so yeah last night was really unproductive. Sort of. But that will be for a later post.

I'm not sure why so many people I meet either outright hate or strongly dislike fish. Growing up in DE, and having family scattered along the Eastern Seaboard, seafood was naturally a part of my diet growing up. I've presumed that its because I now live in the "midwest" and thus really fresh seafood is a bit lacking. But its 2008 (for a little while longer at least) and modern transportation means that even the Kroger down the street from me has pretty decent fish fillets and shellfish. Maybe its an unsolvable mystery like reconciling quantum theory with Newtonian physics... or how many licks it takes to get to the center of Tootsie Roll Pop™.

Either way, I love fish. And shellfish. And even things that remotely fall into that category such as caviar, escargot, frog legs, 'gator, conch. I'm game for any of it. So, what happens is that whenever I go to the grocery store, I check out the seafood case. Now, being a graduate student, fish should be a luxury since its not the cheapest source of protein by far. To reconcile these two facts, I've taken to only buying items on managers special. They don't look the best, but you often have a good day, maybe two before you should pause before using it. And its half the price for what is still good quality food. So on a recent trip I found some nice sized salmon filets and picked two up. Now, when you buy any meat, and especially seafood knowing you need to use it within a day or two, you often need to get creative with what you make depending on what else you have available.

In my case, it was some left over spaghetti squash and some managers special mushrooms that I had picked up as well. I could have gone the easy route, sauté the mushrooms, broil the salmon with a quick garlic/olive oil glaze, re-heat the squash, throw it all together with a light drizzle of olive oil and some fresh pepper, and call it a night. But I remembered a recipe Mark Bittman posted on his blog once about fish with a saffron sauce made with yogurt. Since I generally have yogurt around since I usually make my own, I figured I'd give it a whirl. Now, his recipe calls for making the saffron sauce, and then drizzling it on cooked halibut filets. I of course changed it up a bit.

Salmon with Mushrooms and Spaghetti Squash in Saffron Sauce:

Saffron yogurt sauce:
1/2 cup yogurt*
1 pinch saffron threads
couple grinds of pepper
1/4 tsp. dill

Combine ingredients in a small cup or bowl, crushing the saffron as fine as possible. Incubate at room temperature for ~1 hour. The sauce should take on a faint yellow/orange color.

Notes: You can make the sauce a day ahead of time and incubate in the fridge to amp up the flavor.
*As I said, I make my own yogurt. I'd suggest using full fat or even greek, especially if you heat it like I did. If you want to use low/no fat, you'll probably want to drain it to remove as much extra liquid as possible.

Pan seared salmon, mushrooms and squash:
~1 cup spaghetti squash previously pulled into threads
1 salmon fillet
3 large crimini* mushrooms sliced
salt and fresh ground pepper as desired

Heat a non-stick pan over high heat. When hot, place the salmon fillet skin side up and sear the top for 1-2 minutes. Turn over and drop the heat to medium and cook till salmon is cooked through (time will depend on the thickness of the fillet). While the salmon is cooking, add a small amount of olive oil to a sauté pan over medium heat. When oil is fragrant, add the mushrooms and squash and cook till heated through. When salmon is done, remove skin and cut into small chunks. Add salmon to mushrooms and squash and add saffron sauce. Raise heat to high and cook just till the sauce is hot. Eat, enjoy.

My thoughts:

I liked the combination, and the saffron was still present but a bit muted by the stronger flavor of the salmon. I didn't follow the exact method I described above. I microwaved my squash and topped it with the salmon and mushrooms which has been cooked in the sauce. In retrospect, this caused the meal to be a little watery as the squash gave up liquid which I didn't drain off. If you cook the squash with the mushrooms, they should absorb the liquid and thus you shouldn't have that problem.

I've got a lot more recipes coming in the following weeks, one of which I'm still trying to perfect but I'm super excited about sharing when its done. So if you're enjoying this blog as much as I am so far, great. Share it with all your friends. And family. And co-workers. Heck, even strangers.