I may have mentioned this before, but I left my pasta maker back in Dallas, and since I’ve been in Paris, I’ve not made one single strand of spaghetti, much less ravioli, by hand.
Sad, I know.
Not that I haven’t considered buying another pasta maker, but when I saw the price at BHV, our go-to-for-everything store – around 90 euros for one just like the mine, still resting in a box in my tiny Public Storage unit near White Rock Lake — I just couldn’t. Wouldn’t.
Besides, it’s not that hard to find homemade pasta — there are two Italian stands at President Wilson Market and another little Italian grocer on the street with my favorite butcher.
But sometimes you just want to make ravioli yourself.
The other day, I was in Tang Freres near Porte de Vanves, a smaller, more manageable place to shop than the madhouse of a superstore in the 13th, and along with some Thai curry paste, fresh ginger, cilantro, tofu and avocados, I grabbed this package of won ton wrappers — which I figured would be the perfect thing to wrap some roasted zucchini and goat cheese in for a little impromptu ravioli dinner.
Oh sweet synchronicity!
With the ravioli dough-making out of the way, I freed up all sorts of time. I just mixed up the roasted zucchini with the goat cheese along with a couple of other ingredients, and spooned it onto the won ton wrappers — see how easy and fun?
Then, I just mixed up the pesto, and shoved it all in the fridge until dinnertime.
It’s the sort of thing that you can make early in the day, as I did, and pull out when you’re ready to eat. All you have to do is boil the water.
And pour the vin. No instructions needed on that, right?
Zucchini and Chevre Ravioli with Cilantro-Mint Pesto
Makes 16 ravioli (serves 2)
INGREDIENTS
2 large zucchini
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup fresh chevre (goat cheese)
½ teaspoon chives
¼ teaspoon lemon zest
32 sheets won ton wrappers
flour, for dusting
cilantro-mint pesto, recipe follows
Turn the oven to Broil.
1. Roast the zucchini. Cut the zucchini in 2-inch strips, about the size of an asparagus spear, and lay out on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Drizzle the two tablespoons of olive oil over the zucchini, and sprinkle just a bit of sea salt and pepper. Pop into the oven and watch carefully – this shouldn’t take more than 5 – 10 minutes. Remove the zucchini and let cool before slicing them into a small dice.
2. In a medium bowl, put 2 cups of the diced zucchini, the 1 cup of goat cheese, chives, and lemon zest. Stir gently until well combined. Grab a glass of water and a small brush. You’ll need it to seal the edges of the ravioli.
3. Working in batches, lay out 8 ravioli wrappers on a flat, lightly floured surface. With the small brush, dip it into the water, and brush water along the periphery about 1 inch. Put approximately 1 tablespoon of the zucchini-goat cheese mixture in the center of each one, and put another wrapper on top of each. Gently press the top wrapper down, pressing out as much air as you can. This should easily stick to the wet bottom wrapper, but if it doesn’t for some reason, just hit the edges with the brush again, and make sure it’s sealed up. Lay these ravioli on a parchment-lined cookie sheet that’s also been lightly dusted with flour so they don’t stick. When finished, slide the cookie sheets into the oven until you’re ready for dinner.
4. Put a large pot of water onto boil, and add a bit of sea salt. When it boils, gently add the ravioli, and watch carefully – these are so thin, they’ll only take about 2 minutes to heat through. Using a slotted spoon, remove them from the water and onto two plates. Spoon a bit of the cilantro-mint pesto on each one. Now. Wasn’t that fun?
Cowgirl Tip: If you have any leftover zucchini, just pop in the fridge and mix in with some scrambled eggs the next day. Got tortillas? Breakfast taco!
Cilantro-Mint Pesto
INGREDIENTS
appx 3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
appx 1 tablespoon mint, chopped
1 teaspoon shallots, minced
¼ cup Parmesan , shredded
½ teaspoon lemon zest
¼ cup olive oil
sea salt
pepper
Put all ingredients in a bowl or jam jar and stir or shake to combine. Taste for salt and pepper. Put in fridge for a few hours before using.
You may also make this in a food processor, but the clean-up’s easier if you make it by hand.
Cowgirl Tip: Be sure and make this a few hours before you want to use it, so the flavors will come together.
