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| Circle wonton wrappers |
Wonton wrappers are a little square or circle shaped wrappers made of wheat-flour, eggs, salt and water. They can be purchased in most major supermarkets in the chiller section and I pay about $1.90/packet. You can use wonton wrappers for sweet and savoury cooking. All you need to do is google 'Wonton Wrapper recipe' and you'll find loads of recipes to choose from. They are great baked, steamed, boiled, steamed or deep fried and can make anything from ravioli, nachos, chips to sweet desserts. You can find recipes that take as little as 5 minutes (wonton chips) to 50 minutes (orgami wonton cranes) and I have included these recipes below.
They are so cheap that I never bother making my own, but if you'd like to make your own, click here for a recipe.
I have used wonton wrappers for a while, but usually only made pork dumplings or short soup. But lately, I have been discovering how versatile they are. Wonton chips are soooooooo simple and easy to make - 5 minutes is all you need.
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| Wonton chips |
Simple cut your wonton wrappers into whatever size/shape you want your chips to be (cookie cutters will make this fun for kids). Spray with some oil and dust with salt, pepper, paprika, chilli flakes, all spice, cinnamon or any other sprinkle that takes your fancy. Cook on 120 degrees for a few minutes or until crispy. Done! These are great as a snack or to use for dips or even your own nachos. Be careful not to leave them in the oven too long - they burn quickly!
Ravioli is also another simple and easy dish to create using wonton wrappers. Put simply, ravioli this way is filling the wonton wrapper with ingredients of your choice, sealing the wrapper and boiling for a few minutes. You could also fry them lightly in butter after they've been boiled and it gives them a nice brown covering with a bit of crunch. Here are two recipes that I've made lately with some pictures attached below.
Before I include my recipes, it is important for me to say that I am no chef. I rarely measure anything and this ravioli is no excuse. I didn't measure anything and that is the best thing about make ravioli with wonton wrappers, simply create your own filling based on taste. If you don't like spinach, add more peas or grate a zucchini. If you don't eat cheese, throw in an egg or a bit of coconut cream. Anything goes - add all different types of meats, grated, shredded or mashed veges, cheeses, coconut cream/milk, salt, pepper, spices and fresh herbs.
Before I include my recipes, it is important for me to say that I am no chef. I rarely measure anything and this ravioli is no excuse. I didn't measure anything and that is the best thing about make ravioli with wonton wrappers, simply create your own filling based on taste. If you don't like spinach, add more peas or grate a zucchini. If you don't eat cheese, throw in an egg or a bit of coconut cream. Anything goes - add all different types of meats, grated, shredded or mashed veges, cheeses, coconut cream/milk, salt, pepper, spices and fresh herbs.
Spinach, Pea and Cheese Ravioli
Ingredients - the amount depends on your own taste!
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| Filling the wonton wrappers with my egg and bacon mixture |
Peas
Ricotta Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Cream Cheese
Wonton Wrappers
Method
1. Finely dice and cook spinach (I simple microwave it)
2. Cook peas and mash (or leave whole - anything goes)
3. Mix spinach and peas and add a couple of spoonfuls of ricotta, some grated parmesan and a couple of spoonfuls of cream cheese.
4. Mix together and add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Lay out wonton wrappers and spoon some mixture on top (as pictured).I play them on a tea towel to stop them sticking to the bench.
6. Rub some water, coconut milk/water or milk around outside of wrapper so that you can close it and seal the wrapper (if you don't seal the wrapper properly, the mixture with spill out when boiling). Sealing the wrapper is as simple as pressing it together. Click here for some videos showing ideas on how to fold wonton wrappers.
7. Boil a large pot of water with some salt and add about 6 ravioli in the pot for a few minutes - until they come to the top
8. You can now fry them off in butter or serve with some fresh herbs, toasted nuts or freshly squeezed lemon
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| Cooked ravioli - these stuck together! I should have separated them on the plate. |
NOTE: After they are boiled, don't store them on a plate on top of each other (like I did in the photo)- they will cool and stick together
Other mixtures: there are lots of other mixtures that you can use to put inside your wrappers (ricotta is a great 'binder'), here are some suggestions
- Egg, bacon, ricotta, shallots, salt, pepper
- pork mince, prawns, soy, garlic, ginger, salt (great for short soup)
- mashed pumpkin with pine nuts
- Chirizo, thyme and pumpkin
- Mixed cheeses & herbs
- Crab meat & peas
- Mushroom, ricotta and zucchini
As you may have read in my week 5 post, I even filled these little wrappers with a muesli bar mixture before deep frying them and serving them with cream. I'm not a sweet eater (anymore) so I can't share first hand anything that I've made with these wrappers for dessert, but I have read loads of recipes including chocolate fillings, coconut and lime, chocolate and banana, mixed berries, sugar and banana or pear...
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| Wonton cranes ready for baking |
Oh, I have to add, don't just fold or cut these wrappers. Use them in muffin trays as a 'basket'. I did this one night and used the casings for tacos - filling them with mince, cheese, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. They were a REAL favourite.
I found this picture on the net of someone using wonton wrappers like origami - now that opens up the door to creativity. Imagine what you can make. Over the weekend, I am going to use cookie cutters to shape them into chips and may even spell out my daugthers name on them or do some numbers for her. She'll love to help too. How exciting!
Click here for detailed instructions on how to make these wonton cranes.
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