Peking Raviolis with Eggplant
1 Pkg eggroll wrappers or ravioli wrappers.
1 1/2 lb Eggplant
3 cl Garlic
1/4 c Soy sauce or tamari sauce
1/2 c Scallions; chopped coarsly
1/2 ts Mustard
1 ts Paprika; the hotter the better
1 ts Ginger
This weekend we were snowed in. A good reason for me to have a
craving for Chinese food with all of its attendant fat. So, before
the snow hit, I went out and picked up some provisions, including
some eggroll wrappers and came home to make up a new recipe.
Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and cut off stems. Place face down
on a cookie sheet. Use non-stick spray if the sheet is not already
non stick.
Bake for about 1 hour. The eggplant should give to the touch. Take
the eggplant out of the oven and allow to cool. While they are
cooling mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl to make a marinade.
When the eggplant is cool, they should be a bit shriveled. With a
spoon, scoop out the insides into the marinade. Let sit for at least
15 minutes.
Pour the eggplant and marinade into a food processor to puree for
about 30 seconds. The result should look totally inedible. :-)
Fill a large stock pan with about 1-1/2" of water and set on the
stove to boil.
If you are using wonton wrappers or ravioli wrappers you can skip
this step. Take out two eggroll wrappers and cut in even quarters.
Place out about 8 wrapper pieces on a flat clean surface like a
cutting board. Spoon about 1/2 ts of the eggplant puree into the
middle of each wrapper. Dip your fingers into a bowl of water and run
along two opposite edges of a wrapper or along all four edges. Take
one corner and fold it over to the opposite corner forming a
triangle. Carefully press the wet edges together to form a seal.
Place the triangular ravioli onto a rack to dry a bit and repeat the
process with the other seven wrappers.
If you put too much filling in a wrapper, it will ooze out the edge.
Just make sure you press firmly on that edge to force the filling out
all the way. You want the wrapper edges touching each other so they
will form a seal.
If you have a ravioli press, as sold at Chinese supply stores, follow
the directions given with the press.
After filling eight raviolis, turn them over on the drying rack and
repeat the process with eight more.
At this point, your water should be at a rolling boil and you can
carefully add the raviolis. First stir the water in a circular
motion with a slotted spoon. Place one ravioli on the spoon and
carefully lower it into the water. Continue stirring until the
ravioli starts to float. Add another ravioli. Don't add so many
raviolis that they crowd each other in the pan. They should not touch
each other while cooking or they might cook together.
The raviolis are cooked when they float easily and are somewhat
transparent. The eggplant mixture will spread in the wrapper a bit
but should not seep out if they were sealed well.
As they reach the floating stage, carefully lift the raviolis out of
the water with the slotted spoon and move them back to the drying rack.
When the raviolis are dry again use a toothpick to connect the two
opposite corners and place on a tray of lettuce or ornamental cabbage
to serve.
From: Casey Scalzi <
[email protected]>
Date: Mon, 06 Feb 95 10:54:50 EST
