This weekend we were snowed in. A good reason for me to have a craving for
Chinese food with all of its attendant fat. So, before the snow hit, I went
out and picked up some provisions, including some eggroll wrappers and came
home to make up a new recipe.

Peking Raviolis with Eggplant
1 package eggroll wrappers or ravioli wrappers.
1.5 lbs eggplant
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari sauce
1/2 c scallions chopped coarsly
1/2 tsp mustard
1 tsp paprika ( the hotter the better)
1 tsp ginger

Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and cut off stems. Place face down on a
cookie sheet. Use non-stick spray if the sheet is not already non stick.

Bake for about 1 hour. The eggplant should give to the touch. Take the
eggplant out of the oven and allow to cool. While they are cooling mix the
rest of the ingredients in a bowl to make a marinade.

When the eggplant is cool, they should be a bit shriveled. With a spoon, scoop
Out the insides into the marinade. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

Pour the eggplant and marinade into a food processor to puree for about 30
seconds. The result should look totally inedible.

Fill a large stock pan with about 1.5 inches of water and set on the stove to
boil.

If you are using wonton wrappers or ravioli wrappers you can skip this step.
Take out two eggroll wrappers and cut in even quarters.

Place out about 8 wrapper pieces on a flat clean surface like a cutting board.
Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of the eggplant puree into the middle of each wrapper.
Dip your fingers into a bowl of water and run along two opposite edges of a
wrapper or along all four edges. Take one corner and fold it over to the
opposite corner forming a triangle. Carefully press the wet edges together to
form a seal. Place the triangular ravioli onto a rack to dry a bit and repeat
the process with the other seven wrappers.

If you put too much filling in a wrapper, it will ooze out the edge. Just make
sure you press firmly on that edge to force the filling out all the way. You
want the wrapper edges touching each other so they will form a seal.

If you have a ravioli press, as sold at Chinese supply stores, follow the
directions given with the press.

After filling eight raviolis, turn them over on the drying rack and repeat the
process with eight more.

At this point, your water should be at a rolling boil and you can carefully
add the raviolis. First stir the water in a circular motion with a slotted
spoon. Place one ravioli on the spoon and carefully lower it into the water.
Continue stirring until the ravioli starts to float. Add another ravioli.
Don’t add so many raviolis that they crowd each other in the pan. They should
not touch each other while cooking or they might cook together.

The raviolis are cooked when they float easily and are somewhat transparent.
The eggplant mixture will spread in the wrapper a bit but should not seep out
if they were sealed well.

As they reach the floating stage, carefully lift the raviolis out of the water
with the slotted spoon and move them back to the drying rack.

When the raviolis are dry again use a toothpick to connect the two opposite
corners and place on a tray of lettuce or ornamental cabbage to serve.

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