Portobello-Walnut Spinach Ravioli with Leek Crisps

Mmmmm.. have I ever mentioned how much I truly LOVE ravioli? I'm not sure what it is about these delicious pasta pockets, but I love them in every form and have loved them so for as long as I can remember. They can be fancy, stuffed with lobster or shrimp or roasted vegetables, or quite simple, of the frozen cheese quality I plop into some boiling water as I heat up a jar of tomato sauce. But the best kind, of course, is always homemade.

In this particular case, however, I cannot take credit for the recipe. In the detailed description below I provide a link to a friend's political blog that occasionally features recipes. He is the one who actually developed this creation and then I eagerly swooped in to try it out - and I am glad I did. These ravioli combine spinach, goat cheese, portobello mushrooms, leeks, and walnuts for a wonderful blend that truly satisfies the palate. So while this is quite the time consuming meal, find a weekend and whip these up. They are worth the effort.

I also chose to serve these with my tomato bruschetta that has been featured before. Because somehow bread just works well with pasta!

Time: 2.5 hrs
Difficulty: medium-hard

Portobello-Walnut Spinach Ravioli with Leek Crisps
Remember, these ravioli take a long time. Plan accordingly. I would suggest that you assemble all of your ingredients ahead of time so you can move quickly once you begin. You'll want to budget plenty of time so you do not feel rushed when you are rolling out the dough or assembling the ravioli. They must be treated with care to achieve the best result.

Although you will no longer find too many links in my blog, you can find the recipe for the ravioli here. The directions are wonderfully laid out, especially as it details how to assemble your actual ravioli. But, of course, I have made a number of changes (most of which revolve around health) so let me fill you in on those.

First, this recipe calls for a lot of olive oil. You'll see 3/4 cup plus another 1/2 cup of walnut oil. No way will a meal I cook use 1 1/4 cups of olive oil! I also cut well down on the salt. So follow through as I walk you through the recipe.

Follow the recipe as it instructs you on how to start putting the dough together. But once you have your dough and it instructs you to coat with olive oil and let it sit, we'll reach our first change. I chose to lightly coat a bowl with cooking spray, then put the ball of dough inside of it. I flipped it around once or twice to make sure the dough was lightly coated in cooking spray - no fat involved.

In the next paragraph you learn how to make the filling - basically sauteing onions and mushrooms and then adding some cheese into the mix at the end. Go ahead, but here it calls for 3 tablespoons of olive oil - I used 1 teaspoon. This made a good dent in the fat and calories involved in the filling. I also used just a tiny sprinkle of salt, about 1/8 teaspoon, rather than the full teaspoon called for here.

You will now move into making the actual ravioli. The post does a wonderful job of walking you through how to correctly construct and build your ravioli, so follow along. They actually are quite easy when you get the hang of it so do not be worried! It was rather fun to "paint" the dough with a brush dipped in water and then press the ravioli together with my fingers. And, as you may have guessed, I had trouble keeping all of my raviolis neat rectangles. Do not worry if they come out slightly funny shaped - make sure your seams are tight and they all taste the same in the end.

So now it's time to make the sauce. And yes, we'll cut down a bit on the olive oil here as well. But while it is easy to cut a lot from the mixture, which I believe does not need a lot of salt or olive oil, here it is far more important since it actually makes up the sauce. We'll just trim a bit off while essentially following along. I used fake butter and just 3 tbsp rather than the full 4. I then used a bit less than 1/4 cup for both types of oil. It was more than 1/8 cup each but less than 1/4... so can we go with 3/16? Obviously, we don't get that specific. Just take a 1/4 cup measuring tool and fill it a few tablespoons below the line. Put equal amounts of both types of olive oil into the sauce. Then, make up the difference by adding a bit more than 3/4 cup of white wine. This just makes the sauce a little heavier on the white wine and a little lighter on the olive oil while maintaining the basic idea.

Finally, it's time for the leek crisps and to assemble the ravioli for eating. I happen to love the taste of leeks and wanted to avoid covering up the taste with salt (or oil.) So when it calls for tossing them with 3 tablespoons, I cut it to about 2 teaspoons. And when it says 1 tablespoon salt....well, to be honest, I left this out altogether. Truly, I am just not a salt fan unless we are discussing french fries. If you need a sprinkle toss it on but definitely keep it to just a quick toss of your shaker, about 1/8 of a teaspoon. (Remember, you shouldn't have more than 1 tsp of salt a day.)

Assemble as instructed and finally enjoy this incredible creation!

(Hint: I had leftover ravioli but it didn't keep/reheat quite as well with the olive oil sauce. So while for the main dinner we ate as described above and in the linked recipe, for leftovers I whipped up some tomato sauce and enjoyed the ravioli that way for lunch. That worked extremely well and once again the ravioli were amazing.)