Okay, board the crazy train with me for a second.
This shiitake mushroom “tortellini” with soy cream sauce came out of a family conversation we had recently about using wonton skins for ravioli. This has kind of been a pseudo-trend in and around the internet and Food Network television, and my problem with it has always been that wonton skins are much too thin for ravioli.
Really, wonton skins are not actually meant to be folded in half and then boiled. They’re supposed to be folded like, well…a wonton – in an easy tortellini recipe. It creates the perfect mix of textures that gets lost when you do something as boring as fold them in half.
Which is what led me to this: a filling of mushrooms, ricotta, and scallions, folded kind of like a wonton/tortellini mash-up, and quick-cooked in a sauce of cream and soy sauce. And sprinkled over the top? Crispy panko “pangritata.” Pangritata is essentially crisped up breadcrumbs, use as a topping for pasta by poor folks who couldn’t afford cheese. In this case, we went with panko, because:
1) it’s EXTREMELY crispy
and 2) because we’re obviously going for the whole Asian thing here.
All kidding aside, my dad went pretty crazy for this mushroom tortellini recipe, so I’d say it was pretty successful and hopefully it is the first of more tortellini recipes. It uses that similar combination of mushrooms, dairy, and soy sauce, that’s so successful in our popular Soy Sauce Butter Pasta with Shrimp and Shiitakes. If you’re into fusion, give this one a try!
Recipe Instructions
In a skillet over medium high heat, add a few good lugs of olive oil. Add the fresh shiitake mushrooms and season with salt. Sauté the mushrooms until tender and caramelized. This could take a while, so don’t rush the process! Once the mushrooms are caramelized, you might have some sticky bits at the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with a bit of water.
Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a mixing bowl and add the scallion, crushed red pepper flake, Parmesan, ricotta cheese, egg, and salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble, use a bit of water to dampen the edges of each wonton wrapper, and add a teaspoon of filling to the middle.
Fold in half diagonally so you get a triangle. Make sure there aren’t any air bubbles in the middle, and that the edges are tightly sealed.
Bring the two farthest corners of the triangle together to make a pseudo “tortellini” shape. Continue assembling until you’ve run out of filling.
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the mushroom tortellini. In a skillet over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the panko breadcrumbs and stir constantly until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add a couple tablespoons more oil to the skillet and add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and cream, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes and add the soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Season with pepper.
By now, the water for the tortellini should be boiling. Cook the tortellini in the boiling water for 20 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer them to the sauce and simmer for another 60-90 seconds.
Serve immediately, garnished with your panko pangrittata and more scallions.
These Shiitake mushroom tortellini are so creamy and delicious!
Shiitake Mushroom Tortellini w/ Soy Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 6 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms (170g, finely chopped)
- 1/3 cup minced scallion
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese (50g)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (250g)
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 36-42 wonton wrappers (1 pack should be enough; square wrappers)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs (40g)
- 3 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 2/3 cup milk (160 ml)
- ½ cup heavy cream (120 ml)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium high heat, add a few good lugs of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and season with salt. Sauté the mushrooms until tender and caramelized. This could take a while, so don’t rush the process! Once the mushrooms are caramelized, you might have some sticky bits at the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with a bit of water.
- Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a mixing bowl and add the scallion, crushed red pepper flake, Parmesan, ricotta cheese, egg, and salt and pepper to taste.
- To assemble, use a bit of water to dampen the edges of each wonton wrapper, and add a teaspoon of filling to the middle. Fold in half diagonally so you get a triangle. Make sure there aren’t any air bubbles in the middle, and that the edges are tightly sealed. Bring the two farthest corners of the triangle together to make a pseudo “tortellini” shape. Continue assembling until you’ve run out of filling.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the tortellini. In a skillet over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the panko and stir constantly until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add a couple tablespoons more oil to the skillet and add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and cream, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes and add the soy sauces. Season with pepper.
- By now, the water for the ravioli should be boiling. Cook the ravioli in the boiling water for 20 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer the ravioli to the sauce and simmer for another 60-90 seconds.
- Serve immediately, garnished with your panko pangrittata and more scallions.
nutrition facts
If I wanted to use tofu and blend it to be the same consistency as the ricotta would you adjust anything? Or is there a brand or type you could suggest? Or would you freeze and crumble the tofu?
Hi Marissa, I’ve never tried adding tofu to this, but my worry would be that it would add too much moisture to the filling. I would press it to get some of the liquid out first, and then crumbling it. You may also need to add more salt to flavor the filling, as tofu is quite bland. Again, not something I’ve tried, so I can only give ideas!
Amazing! I was worried that they would be too fiddly for me to make, but woah! Super tasty and easy. Thanks so much for all your amazing recipes.
You’re welcome!
Wonderful, be sure to have a glass of wine while cooking, bon appetit JB
Thank you, John!
I made these last night and they were SO good! Thank you so much for the recipe. I’m making two of your dumpling recipes tonight.
This was delicious!! What a genius idea! I did add a little extra garlic to the mushrooms towards the end of their caramelizing, but that was the only change! Thanks for this recipe!
You’re welcome! So glad you liked it!
Don’t know how I’d missed this recipe before, but it’s great! The flavor is fantastic!
(Might using two wonton wrappers for ravioli possibly work? One covering the other with filling between, and a broad edge around the filling? Maybe edges pressed with a fork? I’ve wondered about what the odds are of it working–likely disastrous?)
Hi Katwin, you could certainly try it, though my concern is that wonton wrappers are generally quite large and quite thin, so I’d be concerned about breakage!