Valentine's Dinner - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our 2012 Valentine's dinner.

This post is dedicated to the creation of the 3-Cheese Ravioli with Cherry Tomatoes that we made for our appetizer. The recipe is from a very interesting cookbook (a spontaneous Christmas gift that I bought for Steve that has really been useful) 'Cook This, Not That - Kitchen Survival Guide'. This is part of the Men's Health collection of tips to help build a better you. I really like this book because it showcases a lot of meals that so many of us would choose at a restaurant, but it shows you ways to make it at home and to cut down on calories and fat, but doesn't lose any of the flavour.

This was both mine and Steve's first time making our own ravioli, so we decided to use this recipe, because instead of making the pasta from scratch (seemed somewhat daunting because we are beginner chefs) it suggested we use wonton wrappers. Both Steve and I absolutely love ravioli so we were keen to have this for our great cooking adventure for Valentines dinner. I am happy to say that this recipe works very well and the sauce is amazingly simple but is bursting with rich flavours.

Here is the ingredients:

• 1 cup part-skim ricotta
• 1/2 cup mozzarella
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan (+ more if you want to sprinkle on top after)
• 28 wonton wrappers
• 2 egg whites lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes (combination of yellow and red make the dish look very nice)
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves (we opted to use freeze dried basil)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Mix the first three cheese together. Working on a clean, floured surface, lay down a single wonton wrapper and place a spoonful of the cheese mixture in the center, being careful not to over stuff. Paint the edges of the wrappers with egg white, then top with another wonton wrapper. Press firmly around the edges to secure the filling inside the ravioli. Repeat to create 24 ravioli.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the tomatoes and garlic for 5-7 minutes until the tomatoes are lightly colored on the outside and are almost ready to burst. Use a fork to lightly crush a few tomatoes to give this a more sauce like quality. Add the basil and remove from the heat.
• Salt the boiling water and turn down the heat to medium so that it's gently boiling. Carefully drop in the ravioli and cook for 3 minutes, then drain. Place on a plate and drizzle the tomatoes, garlic and oil over the top. Add more basic and parmesan if you like.

And here is the final product:

Bon appetit and enjoy!

This recipe is from:
Cook This, Not That! - Kitchen Survival Guide
The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution
David Zinczenko & Matt Goulding
Rodale Inc. 2010
Page 202