Mushroom and Spinach Ravioli

After a long weekend of being in Airports I wanted a nice and hearty meal.  So I searched around and came across a nice and easy Ravioli recipe from Giada.  The recipe does not require you to make pasta and it includes some of my favorite ingredients such as; mushroom, spinach and marscarpone cheese.

Top with your favorite marinara sauce and some freshly grated cheese and you have a meal.

Mushroom and Spinach Ravioli – (Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons for boiling water
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup mascarpone
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano, plus extra for garnishing
• 6 egg roll wrappers (6 1/2 by 6 1/2-inch squares)
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• 2 cups marinara sauce, Click here for an easy recipe
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large saute pan heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil. When almost smoking, add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms, about 6 minutes.

Squeeze the thawed spinach to remove all of the water.  Then add the spinach to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and place mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until you get a coarse texture. Place in bowl and stir in mascarpone and Parmesan cheese. Check for seasoning and set aside.

Line up 3 wrappers on a cutting board. Brush with the egg and water mixture. Using a tablespoon or a cookie scoop, arrange 4 dollops of the filling on each wrapper – 2 on the first row and 2 on the second – 1-inch apart.

Place another wrapper directly on top, pressing around the filling and sealing the edges.

Using a fluted ravioli cutter or a pizza cutter if you don’t have one, cut out squares of ravioli. Each filled wrapper will yield 4 raviolis, giving you a total of 12 ravioli. Place ravioli onto a floured baking sheet and keep covered with a linen towel.

In a large pot, bring to a boil 4 quarts of salted and oiled water. Carefully add small batches of ravioli, about 3 to 4 at a time. This will prevent them from crowding in the pot and sticking together. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spider strainer, carefully remove the ravioli and place on the plate. Tent with foil to keep warm and continue cooking remaining ravioli.

In a saute pan, carefully pour in the marinara sauce and simmer for 5 minutes or until warm.

Divide ravioli between 2 serving plates. Top with marinara sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan.