I think we can all agree that the best foods in life are foods that are memorable from our childhood. Personally, this food for me is Italian. Not only is Italian food my favorite because of the memories I have attached to those specific meals but because it warms the soul. Now before we continue, let me give you fair warning that I have a ginormous sweet tooth, so this is not a recipe for a classic Italian meal like ‘Zuppa Di Pesce’, but rather what seems like a simple dessert. However, no matter the simplicity, the flavor profile is extraordinary. It is known as...chocolate ravioli.
Here’s the catch, this is one of the very few of my favorite foods I have not personally made, but that is because it is from a restaurant in the Bronx called Fratelli where I would and still do have reunions with my extended family for holidays. It consists of a perfectly crisp outer pastry shell in the shape of a triangle to replicate a ravioli, but is stuffed with a warm, gooey, yet light and fluffy chocolate-hazelnut filling. It is then dusted with cinnamon and sugar and served hot. So today, I am taking you along to try and replicate this recipe. Feel free to join me and see how it goes, or skip to the end to find out if I think this recipe is close enough to the OG for you to make yourself. So put on your aprons, and let’s get started.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
This recipe makes approximately 5 raviolis.
What you will need:
Wonton Wrappers
Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
Ladyfinger Cookies
Cinammon
White granulated sugar
Vegetable Oil for frying
Recipe:
1. Pour out a cup of white sugar and mix with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. This will be used as a yummy coating for the cooked raviolis.
2. Put 4 ladyfingers in a ziploc bag and smash them until they turn into a course powder.
3. Take out your chocolate hazelnut spread and scoop out a generous portion into a mixing bowl.
3. Add the smashed ladyfingers to the hazelnut spread in the mixing bowl and mix together until they form a thick paste.
4. Lay out your wonton wrappers, and put a generous scoop of the hazelnut-ladyfinger spread in the center of each wonton.
5. Fold each wonton so it forms a triangle, and seal the edges with water.
6. Pour a generous amount the vegetable oil into any round pan so it forms a shallow pool of oil and put it on medium heat (it does not need to bubble).
7. Place your wonton wrappers into the oil and flip after about 30 seconds or once the first side is slightly golden.
8. Cook the other side for the about the same amount of time, then remove from the pan and lay on some paper towels to remove the excess oil.
9. Once the raviolis have cooled slightly, roll them in the cinnamon sugar coating, and eat! (They are best served warm)
The Review
This recipe was made in a very unconventional way since I do not have a mixing bowl or proper cookware in my college dorm. Therefore, this recipe is very vague as to the degree of temperature and proper measurements needed. However, this did not affect the end result significantly because the homemade chocolate ravioli's practically lived up to Fratelli's taste wise. The crisp outer shell was coated in the slightly crunchy cinnamon sugar, and the inside hazelnut-ladyfinger paste was just as fluffy and delightful as it always is. Sure, they don't look as pretty and refined as they do in the restaurant, but in the end it is truly the taste that matters. My score on how similar they are to the real thing is a solid 8/10. That being said, I suggest you try this for yourself and maybe add your own twist to it! Wonton wrappers have so much potential for creative food ideas.