Handmade Turkey Ravioli

Handmade Turkey Ravioli - Photo by JayDi Photography

Continuing with the theme of trying new things, Jay suggested that we try to make ravioli.  Of course you can use any ground meat, but we chose to use lean ground turkey as it is is a very versatile ingredient and this recipe is just one example. The outcome is spectacular! Sure it may seem like a daunting and time consuming task to assemble these parcels of savoriness. However, you can either set up an assembly line with the kids or do like I did, set up a station in the living room, pop in a good movie and sip some wine. (Ok, I don't like wine, but a nice drink did the trick for me!) Before I knew it, I was done.  Don’t forget to make extra and freeze them.  Then all you'd have to do is plop them into salted, boiling water and you'd find dinner ready lickety split!

Handmade Turkey Ravioli

Active Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6

 Ingredients:
2 lbs lean ground turkey
1/2 cup white onions chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup fresh tomato chopped
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
1 medium bay leaf
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbs fresh basil chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Pasta sheets or wonton wrappers

 Directions:
1. In a large pan, Heat the olive oil and brown the ground turkey over medium low heat and then add the onions, garlic and bay leaf.
2. Allow the onions to cook until soft. Add the remaining ingredients adding the bread crumb a small amount at a time to form a loose filling.
3. Set this aside to cool.
4. To assemble: Place one tablespoons of the filling in a 3×3 inch square piece of pasta or wonton wrapper and brush edges with a cornstarch slurry and top with another 3×3 inch square of pasta or wrapper. Make sure to purge the ravioli of air by placing it between your hands and gently compress the air out. Afterwords,  I cut mine into rounds with a cookie cutter.
5. Now the ravels are ready to cook. Place a few of the ravels in a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook for about three minutes and remove. Repeat this process.
**Tip: Do not place too many ravioli in the water at one time. The water should never stop boiling.
6. Top with tomato sauce and serve.

**Freezing tip: If you are making some to freeze, omit step #5 and place them on a parchment lined sheet pan in a single layer. Place the pan in the freezer until they are solid. Remove them from the pan and place in airtight freezer bags and cook as in step #5 when ever you like.