Pea Ravioli in Lemon Broth   Serves 6

You can make this light vegetarian pea dish as a first course appetizer, or call it a soup.  It’s easy to make this recipe as a non-dairy version or you can add a little cheese to give the dish additional depth.   Light and lemony, this is a perfect spring dish.   Valentien has featured this on our spring menus many times.  Now you can make it at home.

For filling

2 cup fresh or thawed baby peas

2 small shallot, finely chopped

3  teaspoons olive oil

kosher salt and white pepper

For cheese version add:

6 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

6 tablespoons ricotta cheese

For non-dairy version add:

½ cup of silken tofu

1/4 cup of plain unflavored almond milk

Make your favorite pasta recipe  (this one works very well: http://youtu.be/90Ry484ydpU  ) roll it out using your machine rollers thinnest setting.   Or if rolling by hand, roll it very thin, making sure you can almost see through it.  This pasta should be delicate and light.

OR CHEAT A BIT WITH:

30 won ton wrappers

Broth

2 qt vegetarian broth (make your own if you have time! or CHEATER ALERT buy a really high quality boxed broth, and watch the sodium content, you don’t want this to be over-salty)

3 cup lemon juice

2 garlic clove, smashed

2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

Make filling:

(Set aside about 30 peas to use as garnish) Force remaining peas through the fine disk of a food mill into a bowl to remove skins.

Cook shallot in oil in a small skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Remove from heat and stir into pea mixture. Gently purée with cheese  (or almond milk and tofu). Season filling with salt and pepper.

Fill ravioli:

Lay out pasta sheets  on lightly floured surface and cut out 30 large squares, mound a level teaspoon of filling in center. Lightly dampen edges of pasta square with a fingertip dipped in water and fold over to form a triangle, pressing down around filling to force air out and pressing edges together firmly to seal. Moisten 1 end of long side of triangle and fold opposite end over, creating a little hat shape, then pinch ends together to seal. Transfer to a dry kitchen towel and finish remaining ravioli in same manner.

IF CHEATING:  (It’s basically the same process as above)

Put 1 won ton wrapper on a lightly floured surface, keeping remaining wrappers covered with plastic wrap, and mound a level teaspoon of filling in center. Lightly dampen edges of wrapper with a fingertip dipped in water and fold over to form a triangle, pressing down around filling to force air out and pressing edges together firmly to seal. Moisten 1 end of long side of triangle and fold opposite end over, creating a little hat shape, then pinch ends together to seal. Transfer to a dry kitchen towel and finish remaining ravioli in same manner.

Cook ravioli and lemon broth:

Combine broth, garlic, lemon juice and zest, and season with salt and pepper to taste in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Throw reserved peas in to broth for just a moment until they turn bright green and before they get mushy.  Remove peas from broth if they start to get mushy, and set aside to use as garnish.   Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes, then drain.

 TO PLATE:

Divide ravioli among soup plates (5 ravioli each) and ladle broth over them.

GARNISH WITH:

Dollop of butter or non-dairy margarine, lemon rind curls, fresh pea shoots and a bit of parsley, and a sprinkle of a few whole cooked peas.