Serrano Ham & Ricotta Ravioli

It's no surprise; if I could have picked my ethnicity, there's a pretty good chance that I would have chosen to be born Italian. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Italian cuisine is the world's greatest cuisine.

Who needs ultra rich French food when you've got the luxuriously comforting Italian food? From the hearty pasta dishes to the fun and simple pizzas, Italian is unbeatable.

I've always wanted to try to make ravioli and never really gave it a shot. Since I've been pregnant, my cooking has kind of taken a back seat. Well, not really a back seat, I've just gotten more Nigella Express and less Domestic Goddess in the last few months. That said, I couldn't be bothered to make my own ravioli pasta. Instead, I popped into the closest Chinese supermarket in Chinatown on my lunch break and spent less than a quid on a pack of wonton sheets.

Yup, this is wonton ravioli: super simple and super tasty.
Ingredients:
pack of wonton pastry
pack of serrano ham
tub of ricotta
parsley
salt and pepper
lemon zest
spinach
butter
cheese to top

Okay, let me set the record straight, I used serrano ham although it's Spanish and not Italian, simply because I like the earthy taste of serrano. I think it's a bit more rustic than prosciutto, which would have been my choice of cured meats for this. The serrano adds an extra bite to the dish, I think. It helps to deepen the flavors, plus it really works nicely against the lemon zest.

So, here's what you do. Combine the ricotta, serrano ham, cut into bits, lemon zest, parsley and salt and pepper in a bowl. Lay your wonton sheets out and place a small dollop in the middle of the pastry. Dip your finger into a shallow bowl of water and dampen the edges of the ravioli. Fold over or place another wanton sheet over the top. Press and then boil.

Once the water has come to a rolling boil, it should only take three minutes to cook the ravioli. I did it in batches, made up about four to six, then cooked them while I made up another for to six. It was a simple conveyor belt process. :)

When the last batch of ravioli was cooking, I dumped the spinach into the wok to wilt the leaves as well as popping about two tablespoons of margarine into a bowl and melting it in the microwave for the sauce. I served the ravioli on a bed of spinach and drizzled the butter over the ravioli, topped with cheese and sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper. Easy peasy and tasty, too!