Normally, I use ricotta and parmesan cheeses for my spinach raviolis, but this is what happens when you buy cream cheese from Costco. You end up with blocks of cream cheese that are about to expire in the fridge, but you don't feel like making cheese cake anymore.
Today, I'm using cream cheese to make these spinach raviolis that I can store in the freezer for an easy meal later. These raviolis are more "buttery" and rich tasting compared to the raviolis I would normally make with ricotta cheese-- so rich that I could only eat 4 raviolis in one sitting. Thankfully, these freeze really well, so you don't need to eat up all that cream cheese in one sitting.
I made the pasta dough using the pasta recipe that came with my bread maker, and then filled them up with the spinach and cream cheese filling. I froze most of them uncooked in a single layer for a few hours until completely hard, before transferring them to a ziplock bag for long term storage. If you don't have a bread maker with the pasta dough setting, you can just mix and knead the pasta dough with your hands. Or if you don't want to make your own pasta dough, store bought wonton skins will totally work in a pinch! (Actually, amazingly well to my surprise!)
These raviolis are best eaten topped with a bit of your favorite warmed marinara sauce to cut down on the richness of the cream cheese filling. I've also eaten them as appetizers by pan frying them like a pot sticker, so that one side gets super crispy and crunchy. There's something about the homemade dough (as opposed to using wonton skins) that make them extra crispy when pan fried. It was so good dipped in some sweet Asian chili sauce, and reminded me of a sturdier vegetarian "crab ragoon".
Enjoy!
Making the Pasta Dough
 |
| Add dough ingredients |
 |
| Mix and knead until smooth |
 |
| Wrap in plastic and rest in fridge for 30 minutes |
Making the Filling
 |
| Thaw chopped spinach in microwave and squeeze out water |
 |
| Sauté chopped onions with salt and pepper |
 |
| Mix filling ingredients together |
Filling and Shaping the Raviolis
 |
| Roll out dough to 1/10th inch thickness |
 |
| Add heaping spoonfulls of filling |
 |
| Fold dough over and press down on edges |
 |
| Cut to separate out raviolis |
 |
| Using a fork, push down on edges to seal each ravioli |
Pasta Dough recipe is from the booklet that came with my Zojirushi bread maker.
Yields 24 raviolis (5 to 6 servings)
Ingredients for filling:
- 1 c frozen chopped spinach thawed and water squeezed out (measure after squeezing)
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 4 oz cream cheese (half a block)
- 1 T olive oil
- ½ t salt
- ½ t ground black pepper
Ingredients for pasta dough:
- 2 1/3 c all purpose flour
- ½ c water
- 1 t salt
- 1 T olive oil
Ingredients for sauce:
- 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce, warmed up
Procedures:
1. If you have a bread maker, add all the dough ingredients to the bread maker and set it to the pasta dough setting so that the bread maker will mix and knead the dough for you. If you don’t have a bread maker, then mix all the dough ingredients together in a bowl until combined. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Defrost the chopped frozen spinach (I microwave it for about 1 minute). Squeeze out as much water as you can. Then measure 1 cup of the chopped spinach. Transfer this to a medium size bowl.
3. Sauté chopped onions in 1 T olive oil. Add garlic, salt and pepper and sauté until onions are translucent and slightly browned. Transfer to the bowl containing the spinach. NOTE: If you like a smoother filling, you may place the spinach and onions in a food processor and pulse for 30 to 60 seconds to finely chop the veggies before mixing with the cream cheese.
4. Add the cream cheese and mix until everything is thoroughly mixed. Set filling aside.
5. Remove dough from fridge. Divide dough in half and roll out onto a lightly floured surface to a 1/10th inch thickness. (The pasta dough needs to be very very thin or your raviolis will taste gummy. So roll the dough as thin as you can!)
6. Place heaping teaspoonfulls of filling spaced about 1 inch apart (see picture). Fold dough over to cover and cut into individual raviolis. Seal edges of each ravioli by pressing down with a fork (see picture).
7. Repeat with other half of dough, and any other dough scraps from the previous roll. Continue to roll and fill until all the dough is used up.
8. At this point, you can boil the raviolis for 4 to 5 minutes. They are done when they start to float. Drain, and serve the raviolis topped with a little bit of your favorite warmed marinara sauce (or you can just serve them plain with a bit of melted butter too, but they are best with marinara to cut some of the richness).
9. Alternatively, you can place uncooked raviolis in a single layer on a lightly floured freezer tray and freeze for 2 hours til hard before transferring to a labeled ziplock bag for longer term storage. These will be good for 3 months in the freezer. To cook from frozen, just add to boiling water and boil for 6 to 7 minutes. Then drain and top with your favorite marinara sauce.
10. A third option: You can even pan fry the frozen raviolis straight from the freezer by placing them in a single layer in a nonstick pan coated with a teaspoon of oil. Add 1/2 c water. Then cover and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until the water is mostly evaporated. Remove the lid and continue to pan fry under medium heat until the bottoms are browned and crispy. Eat with a sweet Asian chili dipping sauce.