Ravioli Caprese Lightened up. (Chicken and Basil Ravioli)

One of our favorite recipes is Ravioli Caprese from Giada's Everyday Italian.  It's a wonderfully light tasting recipe.  It is however not that light calorie and fat wise so I wanted to try "lightening it up" tonight.




What resulted was a delightful surprise.  Minimal difference in flavour and even lighter tasting.

We used Wonton wrappers for this recipe instead of making the dough from scratch this time and I used light ricotta cheese and a broiled chicken breast as opposed to rotisserie from the store as in the original recipe.

While not big changes it was enough to lighten up the fat content and reduce the calories a bit.

The original recipe is posted HERE.    My changes are as follows.  As always my portions are to feed a family of six (plus a neighbour child tonight who begged to stay after seeing them made)

You can always take these portions and freeze extras on a cookie sheet then place them in a ziploc bag in the freezer to make a quick and easy dinner.  Halving the recipe works too.  I use the original measurements for the sauce without doubling.

Ingredients

Filling:
1 tub Light Ricotta Cheese
2 eggs
approx 1 1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken breast (use a processor to shred it).  This equates to about 1 cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup grated parmesan
4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
grated ground pepper to taste

Sauce:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Wrappers:  One 220gram package of wonton wrappers.  (approx 75 wrappers)

For the Filling:   Combine all the ingredients in a medium bown and stir to combine.  I use my kitchenaid mixer to combine them all well.

Place the wrappers working with about 12 at a time on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Have a small bowl of water and pastry brush nearby.

Place approx 1 tsp (a smidgeon more.  I use a small cookie scooper) into the center of each of the wonton wrappers.
Use the pastry brush to lightly brush water along two edges of the wrapper and fold to create a triangle.  press closed and set aside on a seperate cookie sheet until ready to use.

To make the sauce, simply place the ingredients into a skillet and heat the sauce on low.

Once all the wrappers are filled  have a pot of low boil water ready.  Place about half the wontons in the water and let low boil until floating and ready (about 3-4 minutes).   Drain the wontons and place in the skillet with the sauce, lightly coating before removing to serving dish.  Repeat with the balance of the wontons.

The result is delightful and significantly less work than making the dough by hand as well.  This took me about an hour from start to finish.   Making the dough rolling it out etc, generally takes me about 2-3 hours to make this recipe.