Westernizing the Wonton- Part Two

Pumpkin Ravioli Soup

Welcome to the second installment of my love affair with wonton wrappers. I have to say, by far, this is my favorite recipe yet. I adapted this recipe for Pumpkin Ravioli in Broth with Vegetables and Beans (click on link for original recipe) from the blog Year in The Kitchen. I made this recipe twice...once using wonton wrappers for the ravioli...and once making my own pumpkin dough for the ravioli. I will include both versions in this post.

Hint: save and freeze any extra raviolis that you don't add to the soup because we will use them in my next post.

If you only have time/energy to choose one or the other, wontons or homemade dough, i will include some pros and cons to help you in your decision making process.

PROS
Wontons- much faster, less messy
Homemade Ravioli Pumpkin Dough: more pumpkin flavor...and you get to get your hands dirty!

CONS
Wontons- hmmm....the jury is still out on that one
Homemade Dough- time consuming, extra equipment may be needed to thin dough.

Looks like I'm a little biased toward the wontons, but, whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be wonderful:)

If your opted for the homemade dough, start here...if using the wontons, skip to "filling" section.

Pumpkin Dough:
2 1/2 - 3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose flour
1/3 cup liquid egg whites
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Add 2 1/2 cups of flour to the bowl of a mixer, make a well in the middle.
Add egg whites, pumpkin puree, salt and EVOO.
Attach dough hook, mix dough on low speed for 5 minutes.
If it is wet and sticky, sprinkle in more flour, if it is too dry, add warm water 1 tbsp. at a time.
Remove from mixer, knead for a minute, roll into a ball and rest for 10 minutes.
If you have a pasta roller (I didn't): Divide dough into fourths, run through a pasta roller to create long, thin sheets.
OR, divide into fourths and roll as thin as you possibly can with a rolling pin (i actually didn't have one of those either, so i got creative and used a floured plastic to-go coffee cup...not recommended)
Dough should be in about 2 wide strips
Let dough rest again.
Yield enough dough for about 3 dozen ravioli with leftover scraps.

Here's a pic from the original bloggers site (she got to use the pasta roller machine...lucky duck. My coffee cup dough wasn't as pretty...major shocker, i know.)
Okay, wonton people, you can jump in on the action now...

Filling:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tbsp. I Can't Believe Its Not Butter fat free spray or EVOO
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
a pinch or 2 chili powder
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 cup grated reduced fat parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or 1/8 teaspoon dried ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a saute pan over medium-low, add the butter, onions and garlic.
Season with salt and pepper, saute for 4-5 minutes, until translucent.
Spoon into a mixing bowl.
Add chili powder, sage, parmesan, nutmeg and pumpkin puree.
Stir to combine.

Scoop 1 tsp. mounds of mixture onto pasta sheets, or in the middle of the wonton. For homemade dough, place another sheet on top, press air out around filling, press edges to seal, slice off rough edges and cut pasta. For wontons, wet the parameter with water and fold left bottom corner to top right corner, forming a triangle. Press firmly to seal.
Place on a flour dusted baking sheet and place in the freezer, continue until finished.

Soup: side note- this is soooo yummy and flavorful!

2 large leeks, white parts only, cleaned and sliced thin

1 tablespoon I Can't Believe Its Not Butter fat free spray or EVOO

1/2 onion, minced

3 medium carrots, fine dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 whole bay leaves (fyi- multiple sources have warned me never to eat bay leaves. So follow mom's rule of "better safe than sorry," and go ahead and take them out before serving)

1/2 cup white wine

1 15 oz. can cannelini beans or other white beans

4 cups vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a soup pot over medium heat.

Add butter/EVOO, leeks, carrots, onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 5-10 minutes, until vegetables are slightly caramelized.

Add white wine, reduce by half.

Add stock, bay leaves and beans.

Simmer for 20 minutes.

While broth simmers, bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Season with salt, drop in ravioli dough and/or wontons (I made 1 dozen for 2 servings), cook for 5-7 minutes, until ravioli float to the top.

Remove from water with a slotted spoon and add to the broth.

The End!!!!

Remember, save and freeze the extra raviolis (you should have about a dozen or so left over) that you didn't boil and put into the soup...we'll use those soon!