I-Talian Wontons

It's a fairly silly name for an elegant dish, but you'll understand shortly.

Although I'm a trained pastry chef, making fresh pasta dough intimidates me. Something about the lack of confines usually provided by a bowl and the fear of over kneading... plus I'm fairly certain that like with fried chicken, you had to of been born into a family that's been  making the stuff for years for it to be truly excellent.

So, you're asking, whats up with the wontons already? Well, it just so happens that wonton or dumpling wrappers are the perfect medium to make fresh, homemade ravioli. It's one of those fabulous dirty little secrets that makes me smile.  Also, whether you find round or square, wheat or vegetable skins, they all work. The only thing that might not work are egg roll wrappers which are much larger and tend not to boil as nicely since they're made to be fried. And as is the case with all ravioli, the filling possibilities are endless. These happen to be shrimp, but chicken, pork, fish, veggies, sausage, mushroom, almost anything you can think of can be made into ravioli, so have some fun with it!


I made a very quick sauce for this out of boxed Pomi chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and a dash of oil. These ravioli are surprisingly filling, you wont need more than 7 or 8 to be satisfied.

I-Talian Wontons

1 package wonton or dumpling wrappers/skins (if you have extra, they freeze very nicely)
2 cups roughly chopped shrimp
1 1/2 cups chopped asparagus
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups ricotta (this can be fat free or part skin too)
1/2 cup white wine
1 heaping tablespoon garlic paste or 2 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt & pepper

-Sautee shrimp, asparagus, garlic, salt & pepper in the white wine until just cooked through and tender
-Drain any left over liquid and set aside in a bowl to cool to room temperature
-Set a pot of water to boil
-When shrimp mixture is ready, add the ricotta and mix well
-Moisten the edges of one wrapper with a little water and fill with a heaping tablespoon of the ricotta filling. Press another wrapper over it and seal the edges by pinching the perimeter to create the ravioli. If you need a little more water thats fine, but the odd mechanics of these wrappers is that tif you use too much water, the edges won't stick together
-When you have about 5 completed, slide into the water and let boil for 15 or so seconds. Fish out the wontons with a spider, and place on a plate
-Spoon some sauce over and serve immediately

*This will yield approximately 22 ravioli