Pasta Wrappers

I went on another quest to buy all things new to me at the grocery store this week. I've been having the worst summer of my life, and have been too sick to cook for several weeks. But now that I'm back in the game, I thought I'd dive in head first into my cooking. I bought a pack of pasta wrappers from the produce section at Publix. You can find them right next to the bean sprouts. Which I also bought, but neglected to use and therefore had to throw away. So anyway, I grabbed a pack of pasta wrappers thinking they were won ton wrappers, but much to my surprise there are many uses for this fantastic item! My initial idea was to make egg rolls or lumpia (Filipino egg rolls - amazingly delicious. By the way, did anyone else know that there was a Filipino restaurant in the Regency Square mall? I didn't either, but I'm looking for someone to go with me. Any takers?).

Matt and I decided to make some Southwest Egg Rolls like they have at Chili's since we had all the ingredients to make them. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/southwestern-egg-rolls/detail.aspx We used the pasta wrappers instead of flour tortillas and opted to "oven fry" them instead of deep fry. They turned out pretty good, except we didn't get them quite as golden and crunchy as you would normally like to eat egg rolls. Instead of an avocado ranch dipping sauce like they have at Chili's, I decided to make a copycat version of the ranch dressing at Outback Steakhouse, since it is SO good. This recipe does not disappoint! http://www.food.com/recipe/outback-ranch-dressing-70654 Just be sure to use the *buttermilk* ranch packet for the best flavor - and I used the whole thing, instead of a tablespoon. I also made a modified version of this Enchilada Soup recipe http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cheesy-chicken-enchilada-soup/101433de-6049-4e50-8c49-db1d35f5cca9 which turned out really tasty.

On to the pictures...



Tonight for dinner I knew I wanted to use the rest of the wrappers since we had only used half the package the night before. We had spinach leftover from the egg rolls, and we also had some feta cheese in the fridge that was starting to burn a hole in my pocket. I started to think Greek, but then decided to make up a ravioli filling recipe that turned out really well.

8oz frozen spinach, drained
4 oz cream cheese
4 oz feta cheese (I had tomato/basil flavored)
4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
pinch of salt

I buzzed that in the food processor until it was mixed well. Then I just had to cut apart my pasta sheets and fill them. At first I cut the sheets in half, but that made pretty large raviolis. Then I cut them in quarters and made little ravioli triangles that were perfect.

Make sure to brush your pasta sheets with either water or egg whites before adding the filling. This will allow your pasta to stick together and not let any water in when you boil them. Also make sure you press all the air out from around your filling so the pasta won't continue to float at the top of the water and cook unevenly. Once your raviolis are all prepared, gently set them in a pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. If you aren't planning to serve them immediately, be sure to put some oil on a plate before setting the cooked ravioli on it - otherwise it will stick as it dries.

I know these don't look all that amazing, but they tasted really good. If you're worried about presentation, you can always cut them out with a ravioli cutter. But who has one of those laying around?

I really liked these. The feta gave them a nice zing that paired well with a light tomato basil sauce. You could taste the spinach, but it wasn't so overpowering that it ruined the flavor of the meal. I think the proportions of ingredients was spot on as far as balancing of flavors goes. Matt had two helpings and Carter even ate two ravioli, which really impressed me. I made 24 ravioli and had two left. There was extra filling left over, but I just popped it in the freezer to use another time. I may even use it as a "sauce" for pizza some time. There are endless ways you can fill a ravioli, and it's an easy way to sneak veggies into your meal. I will definitely be making ravioli again soon!