Make a Meal for Mom on Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. What better way to say thank you to mom than by making her a nice meal. My mom lives in Montreal but she was born and raised in Italy so she knows a thing or two about Italian food :) When we were growing up she always made home cooked meals for us. I think she is the the best cook ever! So as an homage to my mom and her Italian roots, I created a dish that celebrates Italian flavors but is still light and low in calories. Unlike the Italian dishes that are loaded with cheese, creamy sauces and pasta, this dish is made with Wonton wrappers and a light tomato sauce. The tomato sauce with garlic and basil give this dish its essential Italian flavors.

Serving size:	6 Ravioli
Number of servings:	4
Calories per serving:	284

Ingredients	Calories
48 Wonton wrappers	720
2 cups frozen spinach, thawed	60
2 cups fat free ricotta cheese	180
2 cups canned tomato sauce	160
5 basil leaves, cut into strips	1
3 cloves of garlic, minced	12
1/4 cups water	0
1 tsp salt	0

To make the tomato sauce:
In a small pot add the tomato sauce, water, minced garlic and 1/2 tsp of salt. Cook on low heat for approximately 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the basil leaves. Set aside.

To make the ravioli:
In a small bowl, mix together thawed spinach, ricotta cheese and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside. Lay out 24 wonton wrappers on a large cutting board. Fill each wonton wrapper with 1 tablespoon of the spinach ricotta filling.

Brush the edges of the wonton wrappers with the water. Place the remaining 24 wonton wrappers over the filled wonton wrappers. Press down the edges to ensure they are sealed all the way around.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Generously salt the water. Add the ravioli to the boiling water. Cook for approximately 3-5 minutes. Drain the ravioli in a colander.

Place 6 ravioli on a large dinner plate. Spoon 1/4 cup of tomato sauce over the ravioli. Repeat for the three other plates. Serve.

Barbara's Tips

Make sure you squeeze the water out of the spinach before adding it to the ricotta cheese. This will ensure that the filling is not too watery.

In this recipe, fat free ricotta works well since it has less moisture than whole milk ricotta and therefore yields a firmer filling without having to add additional ingredients like bread crumbs. You really can’t tell the difference in texture but fat free ricotta has less than half the calories of whole milk ricotta.

Wonton wrappers are a good alternative to making homemade pasta which can be labor intensive. In fact, wonton wrappers are made from the same ingredients as pasta (flour, eggs, water, etc.) but they are rolled out much thinner so they have less calories than homemade pasta. You can find wonton wrappers at any Asian market or in your grocery store in the refrigerated section next to the tofu. Look for wonton wrappers that have 15 calories per sheet or less as some of them can be up to 30 calories per sheet which would change the calorie count of this dish quite substantially.

Cook the ravioli in batches, stirring them continuously, so that they do not stick together.

Essential Flavor Ingredients

Tomato sauce adds a traditional Italian flavor to almost any dish from pasta to pizza, stews, casseroles and even vegetables. Although it is a base for many Italian sauces, tomato sauce should not be confused with pasta sauces that are already flavored and sold as finished products. Tomato sauce is just puréed tomatoes with no additional ingredients added. It needs to be cooked and flavoring added to create a specific pasta sauce.

Garlic is a fundamental ingredient in Italian cooking. It has a very recognizable, pungent flavor. It also has many health benefits so you can feel good about eating it. Your heart will thank you.

Basil is an herb we traditionally associate with an Italian style tomato sauce. It’s a good way to add more flavor and some freshness without adding extra calories.