Another lazy Sunday find me in the kitchen with some wonton wrappers, goat cheese, bacon, brussel sprouts, a red onion and Season 4 of Sex and the City.
It’s a good combination! I haven’t tried to make my own ravioli before, but the ingredients led me to the invention of my very own “Pasta and the City.” I made a bunch while being entertained by Carrie and the girls. AB loved the raviolis (and he doesn’t mind the show either…).
Enjoy!
Jenny’s Pasta and the City
Ingredients:
1 package of round wonton wrappers
6 slices of bacon
1 small red onion
1 generous pat of butter
2 cups of brussel sprouts, washed and sliced into rounds
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of goat cheese
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Cook the bacon until it is slightly crisp. Drain on paper towels. Cool and then chop into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Reserve on a plate. Pour out all of the bacon grease except for a light coating on the bottom of the pan. Save this pan for the brussel sprouts.
While the bacon cooks, slice the red onion into half rounds and caramelize in a small pan with a little butter. The onions should sit in the pan (do not stir!) for about 10 minutes until they are soft and slightly browned on the edges. Chop the onions into a medium dice. Add them to the plate with the bacon.
Cook the brussel sprouts in the pan that was used for the bacon. Cook on high heat until the brussel sprouts are bright green. Season with salt and pepper. TIP: add a little hot water to the pan so the sprouts steam while they cook. Remove the sprouts from the heat immediately and cool in a shallow dish.
Lay out four wonton wrappers on a large cutting board or kitchen work surface. Spoon a 1/2 teaspoon of goat cheese on each wonton and top with a few pieces of bacon, a brussel sprout round, a 1/4 teaspoon of caramelized onion, and a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Next, thoroughly moisten the edges of the wonton wrappers and top each one with another wrapper. Seal the edges while pressing out any air.
Repeat with the remaining ravioli ingredients.
To cook, boil water in a large pot and add 2 teaspoons of salt to the boiling water. Cook the raviolis gently for about 5-6 minutes. Serve in pasta bowls with a light swirl of olive oil.
If you use items and concoctions from the previous post, this next meal will be super quick, great for a lunch to take to work. Now that you’ve got basil pesto already made, you need something to put it on. Boil water for the penne from yesterday’s list of ingedients. While that cooks, assemble the mixed greens with the balsamic vinaigrette that also doubled as a marinade, along with the goat cheese and sliced red onions, optional. Pull out and reheat the 2-4 portabellas you previously grilled or baked and chop into small pieces. When the penne is done, drain all but a little of the starchy water, then stir in as much of the basil pesto as it takes to coat the noodles, and toss in the mushrooms as well.
