The Italian Cuisine in Argentina

In Argentina the Italian imprint is everywhere shaping Argentine culture and character.
It is estimated that up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent (up to 60% of the total population) Wow!! The Italo-Argentineans are called “tanos” slang for “Italianos”.

Now, back to my subject: FOOD. Pasta can be found on nearly every restaurant menu in Argentina. Moreover, you will find there as many Italian restaurants as the Mexican's here in southern California. These "Cantinas" are a popular and economical option for fun evenings. Spanish and Italian cuisine inspire every day cooking, and added to the coming cold days here they also inspire me to prepare homemade raviolis.
This week my favorite: Peas Ravioli.

Pea Ravioli by Carola

Ingredients
1 ½ cups of fresh or frozen shelled peas
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lemon zest
12oz whole milk or low fat milk ricotta
Kosher salt, black pepper
2 tbsp. lemon infused olive oil (1 cup of olive oil with the zest of 3 lemons)
24 wonton wrappers

Directions
Heat the oil in a skillet, over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the peas and blanch them until just tender. (2-3 minutes)Transfer the peas, shallots, garlic, ricotta, salt and pepper to a food processor and puree.
Put a tsp. of pea mixture in the center of each wonton wrapper. Dampen the inside edges of wonton with water and fold, pinching around the borders to ensure that the ravioli is well sealed or you can make round ravioli topping with another dry wrapper; seal edges and trim using a 3-inch round cutter.
Bring another pot of hot water to a boil over medium heat.
Drop the ravioli in bathes and cook until tender (about 3 minutes). With a slotted spoon, transfer the ravioli to the lightly oiled serving plate. Drizzle with the lemon infused olive oil and top with few peas and lemon zest.