Ravioli made simple

 Sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than a bowl of pasta in a luscious sauce. It doesn't hurt that these beloved carbs make an inexpensive and relatively simple meal to throw together at the end of a long day.

Admittedly, macaroni or spaghetti can get a little boring if those are the only noodles you eat. We've developed a real love for ravioli - the pasta that is stuffed with a little nugget of cheese or other yummy fillings.

It was more than a little annoying to see frozen ravioli more than double in price recently, so Vibes found an easy way to make our own using wonton skins. The genius of this is that the wontons are very inexpensive and, now that we are making our own, we can fill them with whatever our hearts desire. Some of our favourite chefs (shout out to Round Hill's Martin McGinley) have been 'Jamaicanising' ravioli, stuffing it with oxtail or lobster for ages. The sky is truly the limit, so don't be shy.

Children love cheeses. Leftover callaloo mixed with some cream cheese can be lovely. This can be the dish that doesn't let 'fridge food' go to waste. Add your preferred seasonings to crushed leftover yam, sweet potato or pumpkin and your filling is ready. Recently, when a trip to the market was long overdue and there was only a half cup of tomato sauce in the house, an amazing sweet potato and kale-stuffed ravioli with split pea tomato sauce somehow came together.

This pasta is made by putting a wonton skin on a clean, lightly floured work surface. Put your filling in the middle, then cover with a second skin. Seal by gently pushing your wet fingers around the filling, making sure there are no air bubbles, then apply pressure outwards towards the edges of the skins so they stick together. Add a tip of water to make them more pliable. If you like, you can egg-wash the edges. We make ours vegan style and find that just water makes them stick pretty well.

There are two important things to remember about making ravioli. First, don't overstuff the filling - half a teaspoon will be adequate. Secondly, after adding to a large pot of boiling water, they are ready when they float to the top. Plate with sauce and enjoy. Four to six ravioli per person is a good serving portion. When you have time for something a little different, be sure to try our delicious split pea tomato sauce.

Some of our favourite ravioli stuffings include:

Picked salt fish or smoked herring

Callaloo and cheese

Mixture of cheeses

Crushed seasoned pumpkin

Sweet potato and kale ravioli with split pea tomato sauce

Split Pea tomato sauce

Ingredients

1 quart water (or broth)

1¹/³ cups dried yellow split peas

Scotch bonnet pepper, minced (to your preferred amount of heat)

¹/² tsp oil

¹/² tsp cumin

¹/² tsp tumeric

¹/² cup tomatoes, chopped (¹/² cup tomato sauce)

Salt and pepper2 cloves of garlic, minced

Method

1. On high heat, bring water or broth and peas to boil. Reduce and simmer until peas are soft. Soaking overnight will help them cook more quickly.

2. Blend split pea mixture until smooth.

3. Heat oil in pan then sauté garlic with spices and Scotchie.

4. Add split peas mixture and choice of tomatoes or sauce to garlic combination.

5. Combine well, simmering until tomatoes soften.

6. Serve with ravioli and grated cheese for garnish.

Ravioli

Ingredients

1 cup crushed cooked sweet potato

¹/² cup sautéed seasoned kale (or callaloo)

1 package wonton skins

Egg wash (or water)

Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Method

1. Combine cooked sweet potato and greens mixtures.

2. Prepare wonton ravioli using ¹/² teaspoon of filling for each.

3. Seal well with top wonton skin.

4. Cook in boiling water until ravioli rise to top.

Vibes tips

Place ravioli in a single layer on floured baking sheet when preparing so they don't stick together. Be sure not to overcrowd the pot when cooking, for the same reason. 

Vibes Cuisine, which has partnered with The Gleaner's Food to present the best offering in popular food and lifestyle, airs on CVM-TV at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays and at 8:35 a.m. on Wednesdays. Encore presentations air Sundays at 8 p.m. on Flow 100. Like our recipes? Then 'like' Vibes Cuisine on Facebook.