Lean Turkey Sausage and Spinach Ravioli

We love ravioli with a light tomato sauce, but store-bought versions had several problems. Light ravioli were hard to find, and when we did find them they were more often than not in the freezer section. Fresh versions were good but we found them to be quite expensive and not very light. We like making fresh pasta too, but during the busy work week it was time-consuming and cumbersome at best. Kevin decided to try making them with wonton wrappers and it was the perfect solution! These handy little items are a really fast, inexpensive way to make fresh ravioli and enable you to put any good-for-you filling in them. Here, we use turkey sausage, spinach and a mix of part skim and fat-free ricotta cheese to make these delicious and lower in fat and calories.

Ingredients

Sauce (8 servings)

1 can San Marzano tomatoes

3-4 leaves fresh Basil leaves

2 cloves Garlic

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

½ tsp. ground Pepper

1 tsp. Sugar

Splash of Red Wine

Ravioli (2 serving or 10 Raviolis)

Light Cooking spray

2 link mild Italian Turkey Sausage, casing removed

3 tbsp part-skim Ricotta Cheese

1 tbsp fat free Ricotta Cheese

Dash Garlic Salt

2 tsp. reduced fat Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup frozen, chopped Spinach (2 tbsp when thawed)

1 egg

1 tbsp. all purpose Flour

20 Wonton Wrappers

How to Make It!

Place a stockpot of water over medium heat.

Sauce

Open can of San Marzano tomatoes. Remove one tomato and hold by the stem in one hand. Using your free hand strip the meat of the tomato off the stem and into the bowl. Repeat for all the tomatoes in the can. Pour the remaining juice into the bowl and discard the stems. Next, tear the basil leaves into small pieces and the can of San Marzano tomatoes. Over a large bowl, take each tomato and place into the sauce. Using a garlic press, press the 2 cloves of garlic into the bowl. Add the salt, pepper, sugar and red wine into the bowl. Using your hands, crush the tomato mixture until all the ingredients are combined and are in a semi smooth consistency. Transfer the mixture into a large saucepan and place on low heat.

Ravioli

1. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and cook through. Place the cooked sausage into a colander and run under cold water.

Kevin’s Tip: This will wash away any remaining fat and cool the meat down to be readily combined with other ingredients

2. Place the sausage into a food processor. Pulse 4 to 5 times until the sausage is a smooth consistency. Transfer the sausage to a large mixing bowl. Add the ricotta (both part skim and fat free), garlic salt, and parmesan cheese to the bowl. Place the thawed spinach between the palms of your hands and press as much water out as you can.

Kevin’s Tip: This step is critical to help keep the ravioli’s together so don’t skip it!  

3. Tear the spinach into small bits and place it in the bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Add ¼ of the whisked egg into the ricotta mixture and set the remaining egg aside. Using a fork, stir all the ingredients together until fully incorporated.

4. Flour the bottom of a sheet pan and set aside along with a clean kitchen towel. Remove the wonton wrappers from the package and place them on a clean kitchen surface in two rows of 6.

Kevin’s Tip: Most wonton wrappers have a side with more flour than the other. When placing the wrappers onto your work surface, look at each one and place the floury side down.

5. Using a pastry brush, brush the remaining egg wash along the border of each wrapper. Using a small spoon, scoop and place the sausage mixture into the middle of each wrapper in one row.

Kevin’s Tip: Take care not to overfill the wrappers, as they will break apart when cooking. A good rule of thumb is about the size of a melon baller. You could even use an actual melon baller to help make the perfect scoop!

6. Next, top with the remaining wrappers pressing around the filling to remove any air pockets and seal the edges tightly together. Using the tines of a fork, crimp around the four sides of each ravioli. As you complete each one, place them onto the floured sheet pan and cover with the kitchen towel keeping them moist and fresh.

7. Turn the water up to High.

8. Stir and turn the sauce up to Medium.

9. One at a time, carefully place the ravioli’s to the boiling water. After 1 minute turn the water down to medium-high.

Kevin’s tip: We don’t want a violent boil, just a gentle roll so the ravioli’s cook but don’t break apart.

10. Cook for 7-8 minutes. Remove the pot from the stove and place in the sink. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out each ravioli leaning them against the side of the pot to remove any the excess water. Add tomato sauce and serve!

Nutrition Info:

Sauce (1/2 cup)

Calories 63 | Fat 2g | Saturated Fat 0g | Carbs 3g | Fiber 0g | Sugars 3g | Protein 0g

WW SP: 0

Ravioli (1 serving of 5 Ravioli’s)

Calories 339 | Fat 8g | Saturated Fat 3g | Carbs 45g | Fiber 0g | Sugars 1g | Protein 11g

WW SP: 9 (5 ravioli’s)