Because I’m not (much) of a masochist, I don’t make homemade pasta very often in our small kitchen. Like I was telling my cousin the other night, the last time I undertook that endeavor I ended up with flour on the front of my shirt, in my hair and somehow all over the back of my shirt too.
Seriously. The back of my shirt. How does that even work?
So, needless to say when I want ravioli I cheat and use wonton wrappers. They aren’t perfect, but they get the job done. And recently I desperately wanted some ravioli, because I had gorgeous herbs from my mother’s garden and some beautiful tomatoes from our CSA.
I finished them in browned butter with thyme, and they were fantastic. Crispy on the outside, cheesy on the inside and covered in delicious thyme butter. Also, this is a good recipe for a quick dinner when you don’t feel like hanging out in the kitchen.
Basil and Tomato Ravioli with Thyme Browned Butter
- 16 wonton wrappers
- 1 cup of ricotta
- ½ cup of quartered cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup of Parmesan
- ¼ cup of diced red onion
- ¼ cup of chopped fresh basil
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper
Mix together the ricotta, tomatoes, onion, Parmesan, basil and salt and pepper. Lay a wonton wrapper on your work space and dip your finger into the water. Moisten all four corners of the wrapper. Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon of the filling onto the wrapper and top with another wrapper. Using the tines of a fork press down on all four sides to seal the filling in. (Be very careful not to over stuff the ravioli, or the filling will leak when boiling.) Drop the ravioli into the boiling water two at a time and when they bob to the surface gently remove them from the water.
While the ravioli is cooking melt the butter in a pan on low heat. Let it cook until it’s browned, about
2-3 minutes, while constantly stirring. Add the thyme. Pull the ravioli out of the water, quickly let drain on paper towels and blot the top with a paper towel. You want the ravioli to be as dry as possible when you brown it the the butter. Cook the ravioli on each side approximately 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with the browned butter sauce.
Makes 8 ravioli.
(Photo by Launie K.)
