Dumpling Darlings

It's been quite some time. Missy has left this blog cold, and the kitchen unattended. And she feels terrible.

I got startled awake today by this ominous sense of guilt. Though it's nothing as exaggerated, but sure enough, my Internet connection is still a major disappointment. And like some kind of gentle sign, I realized that all but Google pages are down and inaccessible. (The Force has its way of telling you what to do, sometimes.)

Today was indescribably cold.. with drizzle dancing down the panes, and your hair standing along the length of your arm. I pulled out Baby Hubz's oversized sweater, and wrapped it snug around my body. And I, for some reason, thought of this Plump Pea Dumplings all the way from Heidi's cozy kitchen.

The imaginary lightbulb blinked drowsily for a few minutes, and finally lighted, in all its splendour. Following that was a whirlwind of boiling, processing and delicate wrapping.

I hope you like some absolutely flavourful pea parcels, bursting with the taste of Asian-Western (Aestern). I know I do.

Baby Pea & Ricotta Parcels

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

I made my batches 3 ways*: little wontons, plumper dumplings, and massive ravioli.

*Yes, I just got lazy.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups frozen baby peas
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Tasty cheese (feel free to substitute for your cheese of choice)
• 2 tablespoons/ a swirl of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons/ a swirl of sesame oil
• a dash of vinegar
• a pinch of salt (adjust according to taste)

You will also need:

• 1 package of wonton wrappers

How to

1. Cook baby peas in boiling water, for about a minute or until they are bright green and floating to the surface of water. Once cooked, drain and run under cold water to stop cooking.
2. Blend peas, ricotta, olive oil, sesame oil, vinegar, and salt in a food processor. You can blend the mixture to your desired texture, but do stop short at turning them into a smooth paste. Trust me, you'll love to have a little of a bite to it.
3. Turn the pea mixture into a medium bowl and stir in grated cheese. Taste and adjust if needed.
4. Put a scant teaspoon of mixture onto the centre of wrapper, fold and seal, taking note to release any air inside the parcels.

Now, here's the best and worst part of it all. You know you're almost there, you can smell it right under your nose and sneak a taste when it dropped out of the case, but you JUST have to finish wrapping before you can cook and savour them little darlings.

But this is also where you can have your afternoon fun. I started out very patient, filling the wontons diligently and folding them perfectly. And they looked really cute when assembled on the plate. THEN, the Missy got tired and figured why not make it plumper, like dumplings bursting out of its cases. I rippled the sides and they looked even cuter than their under-developed brothers. A few minutes later, I don't care how they look anymore, and just want to speed up the process. I dropped a large spoonful of mixture onto one wrapper, wet the sides, and place another wrapper onto it. And there I have it. Baby Pea and Ricotta Ravioli. I am a genius.

In fact, I was so pleased with my lazy inventions, I promptly brought another pot of water to the boil, and slide in my ravioli for 2-3 minutes.

Lunch today was Baby Pea & Ricotta Ravioli served warm with Spinach, Tomato & Basil sauce.

And I thought that ominous sense of guilt will bring punishment.., who would've thought?!