PRAWN AND SPINACH DUMPLING

Continuing on from the Easter round robin cooking extravaganza, enter Madame Michelle with a Chinese Banquet that is worthy of a lazy Susan spin!  Apparently it takes years for a dim sum master chef to perfect these exquisite little dumplings, but Michelle has already mastered this prawn and spinach number – light and delicious.
Serves 4 / Makes 16 (Can be frozen)

Pretty Little Dumplings

Ingredients:
- 100g spinach
- 400g peeled raw prawns
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 egg white, well beaten
- 1 packet square won ton skins
To serve:
- Light soy sauce
- Little toasted sesame oil
- pinch chilli flakes
- Snip coriander leaves + stems
Toss the spinach in a hot dry pan over high heat until just wilted.  Cool and squeeze dry then chop. Whiz the prawns in a food processor with the ginger, garlic, sea salt, sugar, sesame oil and cornflour.  Add the egg white and whiz.
Chill in the fridge for 1 hour then set your steamer to high. Line the rack with baking paper pierced with a skewer.  Place 1 heaped tsp filling on each won ton skin and top with tsp spinach.
Moisten the edges with a finger dipped in water then gather edges up over the filling, squeezing gently to form an open dumpling.  Steam for 8 mins until firm.  Serve with soy sauce mixture.

RAVIOLI

SPINACH AND RICOTTA RAVIOLI

Ingredients

Dough:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 eggs

Filling:

• 1 pound fresh spinach
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 pound ricotta
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus 4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano, for garnish
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Pinch black pepper

Sauce:

• 1/4 pound butter
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon chopped sage

Directions

To make the ravioli dough, make a crater with the flour on your tabletop. Add the eggs to the center of the flour crater. Partially incorporate the flour into the eggs with a fork. Then knead the flour and eggs together to form dough. Knead until the dough is thoroughly worked together, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Reserve until the raviolis are ready to be assembled.

In a pot of boiling water, cook the spinach with half of the salt until tender. Remove the spinach from the boiling water and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze out the water from the spinach and chop it up roughly. In a mixing bowl, combine chopped spinach, ricotta, egg, heavy cream, and 4 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano. Season with the nutmeg, remaining salt, and black pepper.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepot. Simmer the nutmeg and sage in the butter for 1 minute. Reserve until the raviolis are cooked.

To assemble the raviolis, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to form a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) of dough. Place 1 spoonful of filling onto 1 sheet of dough 1/2 inch from the edge. Continue to place spoonfuls of filling along the dough 1-inch from each other.

Place 1 of the other pieces of rolled out dough on top of the piece with the filling on it. Pinch the dough around the filling to form the ravioli. Use a cookie cutter or a knife to cut out the raviolis. Pinch the edges of each ravioli with the tines of a fork. Set aside each ravioli on a plate lightly dusted with flour. Do not stack the raviolis, because they will stick together.

When you are ready to cook the raviolis, add them to boiling water. When the raviolis float, about 2 to 3 minutes, they are finished cooking. Serve each portion with the sage butter and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano over each serving.

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Ingredients

Dough:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 eggs

Filling:

• 1 pound fresh spinach
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 pound ricotta
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus 4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano, for garnish
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Pinch black pepper

Sauce:

• 1/4 pound butter
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon chopped sage

Directions

To make the ravioli dough, make a crater with the flour on your tabletop. Add the eggs to the center of the flour crater. Partially incorporate the flour into the eggs with a fork. Then knead the flour and eggs together to form dough. Knead until the dough is thoroughly worked together, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Reserve until the raviolis are ready to be assembled.

In a pot of boiling water, cook the spinach with half of the salt until tender. Remove the spinach from the boiling water and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze out the water from the spinach and chop it up roughly. In a mixing bowl, combine chopped spinach, ricotta, egg, heavy cream, and 4 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano. Season with the nutmeg, remaining salt, and black pepper.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepot. Simmer the nutmeg and sage in the butter for 1 minute. Reserve until the raviolis are cooked.

To assemble the raviolis, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to form a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) of dough. Place 1 spoonful of filling onto 1 sheet of dough 1/2 inch from the edge. Continue to place spoonfuls of filling along the dough 1-inch from each other.

Place 1 of the other pieces of rolled out dough on top of the piece with the filling on it. Pinch the dough around the filling to form the ravioli. Use a cookie cutter or a knife to cut out the raviolis. Pinch the edges of each ravioli with the tines of a fork. Set aside each ravioli on a plate lightly dusted with flour. Do not stack the raviolis, because they will stick together.

When you are ready to cook the raviolis, add them to boiling water. When the raviolis float, about 2 to 3 minutes, they are finished cooking. Serve each portion with the sage butter and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano over each serving.