I've heard lots of people talk about the power of the humble wonton wrapper. So in an effort to 'fake it' and make a 'knock their socks off' meal with little effort, I invited Pete and Michelle over for dinner at 4.15pm on a Saturday night and crossed my fingers I could pull it off by the time they arrived at 7pm! (And that included a trip to the supermarket to buy supplies!)
I've seen a few recipes for ravioli here and there but wanted to keep mine very simple - a la Donna Hay's philosophy. Fast. Fresh. Simple. She speaks my language that woman.
And voila! I did alright! It almost looks like her version! My little pockets of fabulousness did stick together a bit in the boiling water which made serving difficult, but I am prepared to try again in an effort to perfect my technique.
It was so easy and oh so yummy - Michelle and Pete were both very impressed and it took no time at all to put together when they got here.
Making the ravioli was a little time consuming but on a sunny Saturday afternoon with some Buble in the background, I was in a happy place!
My friend Cat's Mum would have a heart attack if she heard I was substituting home made pasta for store bought wonton wrappers, but I'm on the bandwagon and not ready to get off!
I added pinenuts to Donna's recipe, and also some lemon rind and lemon juice to the ricotta mix. It just lightened it a bit. Would also be great with sage rather than oregano.
For lunch the next day, I tossed the leftover ravioli parcels in a light dressing of grated zucchini, lemon rind, spring onion and pinenuts that I stirfried quickly in the pan with some lemon juice. A much lighter alternative to the decadent brown butter sauce! (It was a bit like the deeelish pasta dish that Brooke did for our
Ladies Lunch)
I can't wait to try some more combinations - perhaps with some meat next time!
Cheat's Pumpkin and Ricotta Ravioli Ingredients 550g pumpkin, peeled and chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil 250g ricotta ½ cup (40g) finely grated parmesan 1 tablespoon oregano leaves, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped sea salt and cracked black pepper 20 wonton wrappers finely grated parmesan, extra, to serve
brown butter sauce 50g butter 4 sprigs oregano
Method
- Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
- Place pumpkin on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.
- Sprinkle with oil and bake for 20–25 minutes or until golden.
- Combine the ricotta, parmesan, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper. (NB. I added juice of half a lemon and some lemon rind as well)
- Place 2 teaspoons of the ricotta mixture and 2 pieces of pumpkin on half the wontons. (NB. I'd only use one teaspoon in future - my first few oozed when I sealed them and were a bit messy in the saucepan)
- Brush the wonton edges with water and top with remaining wontons. Press the edges to seal.
- To make the brown butter sauce, cook the butter and oregano in a saucepan over low heat until butter is lightly browned and oregano is crisp. (NB. I added pinenuts for a bit of crunch. Walnuts would also be delish, as would some blue cheese added right at the end!)
- Cook the ravioli in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 3–4 minutes or until al dente. (NB. The ravioli floats to the top of the water when it's ready - easy trick!)
- Drain and serve with remaining pumpkin, brown butter sauce and extra parmesan.
Serves two - I doubled it and it worked just as well
Gemmy-pops and Benny-boo had me over for dinner last week for quite possibly the most flavoursome dinner I've had all year.
Inspired by this fabulous pic from Anna at Absolutely Beautiful Things, I had my friend Jourdanne keep a look out for any old chairs at Op Shops that I could possibly makeover.
Andie was the most thorough sander I've ever come across - she can come again! 
And while I was busy finishing the bottle of sparkling, dear Pip was busy on the front lawn (probably a safer option than dear Emma who took her chair out to the middle of the road to minimise the damage of overspray!). She was handy with the spray can, that girl - but she assures me she's never done any graffiti!
First of all, we started with miniature versions of bircher muesli - served in cupcake wrappers and topped with flaked almonds, strawberries and cinnamon. Yummo.
In honour of Kimberlee's birthday, we celebrated with red velvet cupcakes. Oh. Em. Gee. So good, I will never get sick of them. 
Always with an eye for detail, Emma added a beautiful rose to top it off. 
And she was impressed, that cream cheese icing is the bee's knees! For drinks, we sipped on Chandon (okay, I think I had the whole bottle to myself, minus the half glass that Emma finished) and water with mint, plus beautifully styled bottles of Bundaberg's blood orange, pink grapefruit and lemon, lime and bitters fizzies. 
Oh, we also had sausage rolls with sweet chilli sauce that I dug up from the freezer - perfect for those carrying the burden of a big night, ahem, Kimberlee! Then there were the CC's which always work a treat in times of great need (along with Frozen Cokes from McDonalds)! Stay tuned for pics of our Blagetti workshop - I made the girls work hard for their meal, that's for sure!
Still so completely on Cloud Nine after our visit from the fabulous (and a Cosmo Fun, Fearless Female nominee) Anna Spiro a few weeks ago.
Why oh why can't we have a store in Australia?
I added pinenuts to Donna's recipe, and also some lemon rind and lemon juice to the ricotta mix. It just lightened it a bit. Would also be great with sage rather than oregano.
But last Sunday I wanted some more colour and needed to stretch my legs so walked down to the Adelaide Showground Farmers Markets to bag a bargain.
