I found the idea for cheat’s ravioli in Valli Little’s recipe book ‘Faking It – How to Cook Delicious Food without Really Trying’. Wonton ravioli is a happy meduim – a great alternative to making pasta from scratch if you are time poor, and beats store bought ravioli hands down.

ingredients

200g ricotta
1/4 jap pumpkin cut into 1 inch cubes
2 birds eye chillies, chopped finely (seeds removed if you prefer mild!)
2 handfuls grated parmesan
1 handful washed and chopped fresh basil
50 wonton wrappers
2 chorizo sausages thickly sliced
1 handful fresh thyme
olive oil

method

Preheat oven to 180ºc.  Coat pumpkin in olive oil and mix in chilli and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Place on a tray in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until soft with golden brown edges.

Allow to cool slightly.  Remove any excess moisture from the ricotta before mixing with the pumpkin, basil and parmesan.

Lay a wonton wrapper down on a clean dry surface, and place a spoonful of pumpkin ricotta mix in the centre.  Wet each edge of the wonton wrapper with water and place a second wrapper on-top.  Gently press down on all sides, pushing any air out.  Repeat for the remaining wrappers.  Put a large pot of water on to boil, and heat a fry pan on medium with a dash of olive oil.  Fry the chorizo slices in the frypan until golden and crisp – there should also be lots of pan juices.

Lower the ravioli into the boiling water, ensuring not to overcrowd – you will have to do this in batches.  Allow to cook for 3 – 4 minutes (they will rise to the surface when ready). Remove ravioli with a slotted spoon, serve on plates with the chorizo, pan juices and sprigs of thyme.

notes

to make this dish more hearty or wintery, you could serve this with a napoli sauce (this tastes great with the chorizo and thyme too!).