Today’s entry is the fulfillment of a promise that I made to Norma in the Comments section of the Bartolini Cannelloni recipe post of last March. (Norma, by the way, is a cookbook author whose wonderful blog, Garden to Wok, is filled with tasty recipes and gardening tips.) She asked if egg roll skins could be used in place of pasta dough to make cannelloni. Well, Norma, it took 2 months and I used wonton wrappers but here’s the promised post.
Back before I started buying ravioli molds but after I learned I was unable to use Mom’s tiny cappelletti mold, I saw someone on a cooking show use wonton wrappers to make ravioli. That’s all I needed to see. Before long I was making ravioli and tortelloni using the wrappers without any problems. In fact, I’d probably still be using wrappers if I hadn’t seen another TV cook use a large ravioli mold one day. Soon I was making ravioli and cappelletti of all sizes and I never bought another wonton wrapper.
When I’ve shared our ravioli recipes, some have mentioned that the process seemed difficult and time-consuming. Using wonton wrappers eliminates one of the more difficult elements, that of making and rolling out the pasta dough. With that out-of-the-way, the rest of the process is a snap and this post will show you just how easy it is to use wonton wrappers to make stuffed pasta. Along the way, we’ll make round ravioli, manicotti, square ravioli, and tortelloni, all of which are pictured in the unfortunate photo above. It’s a long post but the method for preparing each pasta will “stand on its own” so that you need only reference the section(s) that interest you.
* * *
How to make Jumbo Ravioli (Ravioloni)
- Place one wonton wrapper on a floured work surface.
- Place about a tbsp of filling in the center of the wrapper.
- Use your fingers or a brush to moisten the 4 edges on the wrapper.
- Place another wrapper on top.
- Use your fingers to remove as much air as possible while pressing to seal the edges.
- Use a pastry wheel or sharp knife to trim uneven edges.
- Use a fork’s tines to press and further seal the 2 wrappers.
- Reserve on a lined baking sheet for later cooking or freezing.
* * *
These ravioli are about 3.25 inches (8.9 cm) square, after trimming. Remember that when cooked, they will expand a bit more.
* * *
How to make Ravioli
- Place one wonton wrapper on a floured work surface.
- Use a pastry wheel or sharp knife to cut the wrapper in half.
- Place about a tsp of filling in the bottom half of each part.
- Use your fingers or a brush to moisten the top half of each part.
- Fold the top half and cover the bottom half of each.
- Use your fingers to remove as much air as possible while pressing to seal the edges.
- Use a fork’s tines to press and further seal the 2 ravioli.
- Reserve on a lined baking sheet for later cooking or freezing.
* * *
These ravioli are about 1.6 inches (4.0 cm) square.
* * *
How to make Large Round Ravioli
- Place one wonton wrapper on a floured work surface.
- Place about 2 tsp of filling in the center of the wrapper.
- Use your fingers or a brush to moisten the wrapper area around the filling.
- Place another wrapper on top.
- Use your fingers to remove as much air as possible while pressing to seal the edges.
- Carefully place a large biscuit cutter over the covered filling. Make sure that the cutter surrounds the filling without touching it.
- Press down on the biscuit cutter hard enough to sever the wrappers.
- Remove excess wrapper from around the cutter.
- Remove the raviolo from the cutter and reserve on a lined baking sheet for later cooking or freezing.
* * *
These ravioli have a diameter of 2.5 inches (6.4 cm).
To make Small Round Ravioli use a smaller biscuit cutter. Mine was 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter.
* * *
How to make Tortelloni
- Place one wonton wrapper on a floured work surface.
- Use your fingers or a brush to moisten 2 adjoining sides of the wrapper.
- Place a little more than a tsp in the corner opposite the moistened sides.
- Fold the moistened half of the wrapper to cover the other.
- Use your fingers to remove as much air as possible while pressing to seal the edges.
- Use a fork’s tines to press and further seal the 2 sides.
- At this point, you’ve created a triangular-shaped raviolo. You can stop here or continue and make a tortelloni.
- Use you finger to make an indentation in the center of the triangle’s hypotenuse. (And you once thought you’d never use geometry in real life, didn’t you?)
- Bring the two opposing corners together, moisten one, and press together to seal.
- Bend backwards the remaining corner.
- Reserve on a lined baking sheet for later cooking or freezing.
* * *
Although it’s not possible to give the exact size of your tortelloni, it’s safe to assume that these would be too large to be used in soup. Any stuffed pasta used in soup should be bite-sized so that the diner needn’t cut them before eating.
* * *
How to make Manicotti/Cannelloni
- Place one wonton wrapper on a floured work surface.
- Place about 1.5 tbsp of filling along the bottom edge of the wrapper.
- Use your fingers or a brush to moisten the opposite or top edge of the wrapper.
- Carefully and tightly roll the wrapper and filling towards the moistened edge.
- Place the finished manicotto/cannellono, sealed-side down, on a lined baking sheet for later baking or freezing.
* * *
In my family, cannelloni are meat-filled and manicotti are cheese-filled. These manicotti/cannelloni are about 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) wide, perfect for creating a double row in many baking dishes.
* * *
Variations
The size and shape of your pasta is limited only by the size of the wonton wrapper. If you haven’t a biscuit cutter in the size you want, try using a glass or jar to cut your pasta. I’ve never used egg roll wrappers but imagine that the processes would be the same, only much larger. Frankly, I’d never use an entire egg roll wrapper to make a single stuffed pasta. Instead, I’d cut it into halves or quarters before using.
* * *
* * *
Notes
No matter what size or shape of ravioli that you make, be sure that there is no filling along the edge where the dough is to be sealed. It will only interfere with the seal and the pasta will probably open up during cooking. Equally important is to make sure that the pasta edges being sealed are moistened with water. Mom, Zia, Lidia Bastianich, and Mario Batali all agree: egg or egg wash is never used to seal pasta for it can harden during the cooking process, making the edges of your pasta pillows unpalatable.
As you may have noticed in the photos, I used a cheese-based filling when making each stuffed pasta. The recipe for that filling, porcini mushroom, leek, and goat cheese can be found HERE. If you don’t wish to use that filling, you may prefer to use either of these 2 fillings: the traditional Bartolini ravioli filling or the Bartolini sausage ravioli filling.
At the very beginning of this post I stated that my objective was to show how simple it is to make wonton wrapper pasta. As you’ll see next week, the filling I used here is flavorful yet, also, uncomplicated and easy to prepare. The same holds true for dressing the cooked pasta. Although you can certainly use any sauce you wish to dress your ravioli or tortelloni, you needn’t complicate matters. The large ravioli pictured above were dressed with melted butter and garnished with Parmesan flakes and fresh parsley. You could just as easily use olive oil in place of the butter, and, grated cheese in place of the Parmesan flakes. By keeping it simple I hoped I’ve demonstrated just how easy it is to prepare a homemade stuffed pasta dinner using wonton wrappers. In short, yes, you can do this!
* * *
It’s déjà vu all over again …
Since today’s post used square wonton wrappers, I thought I’d stick with the theme and send you back to the post where we made fazzoletti, little handkerchiefs, pasta. Nothing more than pasta squares, these are among the easiest of pastas to make at home. You can see how they’re made simply by clicking HERE.
* * *
Coming soon to a monitor near you …
Porcini mushroom, leek, and goat cheese ravioli filling.
* * *
from the Bartolini kitchens 
Brilliant! A shortcut that has the approval of the Bartolini Kitchen – that’s good enough for me 🙂 Speaking of your Mother’s cannelloni recipe, I remembered she used a fantastic shortcut for her cheese sauce, and since I’ve no flour (here in my temporary digs), I borrowed it to make a cheese sauce for my primavera in the tropics for lunch yesterday! 🙂
LikeLike
Homemade pasta is always better but the time require to make it is a luxury for many. Wonton wrappers is a way around the problem. I hope you enjoyed that primavera. 🙂
LikeLike
Shortcuts for Pasta Dummies 101 ~ thank you so much, CJ! I needed this. Wonton wrappers I could handle. Can’t wait to see the recipe for the cheese-based filling that you said is coming up. Well done. (and ~ thanks to bitsandbreadcrumbs for the question on cooking times)
LikeLike
If you haven’t the time nor inclination to make your own pasta, wonton wrappers are the way to go. I hope you’ll enjoy the filling recipe, It was just posted.
LikeLike
A most wonderful fusion indeed! My mother would spend hours in the kitchen making Mante, a traditional Armenian dumplings till she got word of Wonton wrappers. Now I don’t know exactly when she made this discovery because we could never tell eating Mante that she was technically cheating. She never told a sole until we discovered her secret stash of wonton wrappers!!
LikeLike
I haven’t met her but I love your Mother! You have to give her credit for keeping her secret for so long. 🙂
LikeLike
What a wonderful, detailed post John – thank you so much for that.
I too have not been receiving your posts in my Reader 😦
LikeLike
You’re welcome, Marianne. I don’t know what’s going on with WP. I no longer get notifications if someone replies to my comments. I don’t know what to make of it.
LikeLike
awesome post! I’m going to have to try that.
LikeLike
Fantastic! I hope you do. Good luck!
LikeLike
Its such a great shortcut to pasta isn’t it?. We make these as you have in my pasta addicted house. I love your pictures and descriptions, to such a great timesaver. Perfecto
LikeLike
I have to admit I prefer homemade pasta but not everyone has the time needed. You’ve used them so you know how much easier — and quicker — these wrappers are to use. Thanks for dropping by and for not finding any errors in my methods. 🙂
LikeLike
Wonderful! Now I can make some ravioli at home, thank you so much for the guide, the step-by-step photos are really helpful!
LikeLike
You’re welcome, Jasline. With your talent in the kitchen, I can’t wait to see what kind of fillings you develop, not to mention the sauces you’d use to dress the pasta. 🙂
LikeLike
What a great tutorial post! I really appreciated the slide shows demonstrating the process for each. I have tried making fresh pasta in the past and mine tends to come out a little thick since I don’t have a pasta machine—or maybe not enough practice! 🙂
LikeLike
I’m so glad you found this post useful. I’d guess you haven’t had enough practice rolling pasta dough but, then again, how could you possibly with children to care for? Your time is better spent elsewhere and wonton wrappers were made just for you! 🙂
LikeLike
Yeah! A ravioli I can actually make!! I always forget about wonton wrappers-thanks for the reminder! I like the different options too! Oh and those step by step pictures are wonderful!
LikeLike
Thanks, Tanya. If i can get a couple people to give this a try, I’ll consider the post a big success. I hope you’re one of them!
LikeLike
I always wondered it if you could do it like this – seeing as you are Italian I will take your word as gospel! Thanks John. Looks delicious!
LikeLike
Thanks for the vote of confidence! I think you’ll be amazed at how really simple this is to do. Sure, the first couple may be a little difficult but then you’ll learn the process and you’ll be off and running. 🙂
LikeLike
You would be surprised how many restaurants are using wonton wrappers for their fresh pastas…I know of several famous ones that use them. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for commenting, Karen. A previous commenter, and former restaurant owner, said that Friday nights were wonton ravioli night at their place. I never order stuffed pasta on this side of The Pond so I’d have never known. I’d no idea.
LikeLike
Okay, I’m gonna have to try one of these, John. It looks like a lot so much fun to make them. And boy, they look delicious. I need a day that I can spend making one or more of these. I need the practice, right? Hmmmmmmmm.
Thank you for this post, John!
LikeLike
It won’t take you a day, Sarah, that’s for sure. You;ve made your own pasta dough so you may not care for this as much. It’s a great substitute when you haven’t the time or inclination to make pasta dough — but homemade is better, not by a lot but still better, nonetheless.
Good to “see” you, Sarah. Have a great week and holiday weekend.
LikeLike
Pingback: Porcini Mushroom, Leek, and Goat Cheese Ravioli Filling | from the Bartolini kitchens
How on earth did I miss this post! Unacceptable I tell you! Thankfully you mentioned it in your post today which I am heading back to read right now!
The last time I used wonton wrappers was when we were living in Mauritius – after reading this, definitely time to get some again!
🙂 Mandy xo
LikeLike
No problem, Mandy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve missed someone’s post. It happens to us all. So, you know about wonton wrappers? No excuses now. I expect to hear about your wonderful, homemade ravioli dinners. And soon! 🙂
LikeLike
what a brilliant invention and combination to use the wonton wrappers to make ravioli. I shall give it a try!!
LikeLike
That’s the spirit! You can do this. It isn’t at all hard and the rewards are great! Good luck!
LikeLike
Great post, John. I seemed to have missed it when you published it. Hmmm…. I have yet to buy the ravioli molds and the only way I have ever made ravioli is with wonton wrappers. 🙂
LikeLike
Seems a number of people are having problems with WP, Richard. I hope they’re not planning an upgrade. Once you get and master a mold, Richard, you’ll never go wonton again! 🙂
LikeLike
Ha ha. I’ve always thought this was cheating, but NOW that my favorite Italian cook says that it is OK to use wontons, I feel reassured. No cheating – just a short cut 🙂 Thanks John!
LikeLike
I’m honored to be your favorite. Thank you. I think we ‘d be surprised to learn how many people and restaurants “cheat” and use wontons wrappers. If the choice is store-bought ravioli or homemade wonton wrapper ravioli, I’ll choose wonton every time. They may not be as good as Nonna made but they are plenty good.
LikeLike
seems your posts have been slipping by me, John. Not sure how I’ve missed them 😦 Ah well–better late to the party than absent. Great step-by-step here. Love the east-meets-west thing.
LikeLike
Sorry you’re having WP problems. You’re not alone and it’s getting worrisome. I hope they aren’t messing with the system. ‘m truing to encourage people to make pasta at home. Wonton wrappers certainly does help to make the process more accessible. Glad you like it.
LikeLike
What a fantastic idea! Great post for all us rolling-pin challenged foodies 🙂
LikeLike
From what I’ve learned in the comments, restaurants are using wonton wrappers, too, now. Who knew?
LikeLike
You’ve been so busy while I was away.. such wonderful slide shows to educate us in the different techniques (and spellings) of these east meets west pasta dishes. You’ve really made the steps in the process so simple with these photo series.. it gives me courage to try making pasta as well. Since being in Italy, I have been looking at Finally (grin) trying my hand at pasta making. Of course, I will come here first because no one details the small important steps like you do:) So glad to be back here!! xx
LikeLike
So glad to have you back, Barb! I wish we lived closer together. I’d love to hear all about your trip. I’m sure it was fantastic and you’ve a wealth of lovely memories to cherish.
I do hope you do try your hand at making pasta at home, Barb. Wonton wrappers are the easiest way to do it and a confidence builder. Before long, you’ll be rolling out dough sheets and making ravioli like a pro. 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Be everywhere, do everything, and never fail to astonish the customer. – Macy’s Motto and Raspberry Whipped Cream | Susartandfood's Blog
Great idea! Using wanton wrappers makes homemade pasta so much simpler… and less messy!
LikeLike
It really depends on how much time you have, Amber. I’ve got the time so I can make the pasta dough. If you don’t have the time, then wonton wrappers are a good substitute. Either way, you’ll end up with ravioli that are far better than anything you’ll find in a grocery store. 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Live Blogging Event – Chopped Challenge III – 2014 « Eat, Play, Love
Pingback: Staying Warm and Toasty « Eat, Play, Love