‘Tis the season for parties, potlucks, and drop-ins. It’s the time to get your pretty on, indulge at the table, and not slave over a hot stove. If you are a regular visitor to my blog (and I hope you are, but if this is your first time…welcome!) you know that when it comes to cooking, I have a preference for all things fast and fabulous. In that vein, I’ve developed a couple go-to party bites with simple ingredients. They can be made ahead of time, even frozen, and finished off in minutes. And of course all of them have one thing in common, wonton wrappers!
LEMONY CHEESE WONTONS WITH PESTO
The key to these delicious appetizers is that I treat the wonton wrappers like freshly made pasta sheets. They’re delicious as single serve bites but also make a perfect dinner! As with any recipe, adjust ingredients to suit your taste.
1. Place softened cheese into a bowl and added the lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Mix well.
2. Line up a few wonton wrappers and drop about a teaspoonful of cheese mix into the centre.
3. Wet your finger in the water and run it along the edges of the wonton.
4. Fold the wonton in half away from you to form a rectangle, pressing down on the edges to seal well.
5. Bring two corners at the top of the wrapper together and pinch to seal. You make have to dab some water on the wrapper again to stick the corners together.
6. Set aside and repeat with the rest of the wrappers.
7. When ready to cook, boil salted water as if cooking pasta. Once the water comes to a boil throw the wontons in and stir once to prevent them sticking to the bottom.
8. Cook the wontons in the water on high heat for 3-4 minutes for an al dente bite to the wrapper.
9. Drain the wontons and dab with a good dollop of pesto. You can find my pesto recipe here.
10. Plate individually on tasting spoons, pierce with a sturdy toothpick, or plate three together on small plates for a light appetizer.
WONTON TACOS
These seasonal looking appetizers are delicious any time of year. You can control the heat with the ingredients but a little spice works well with these bites.
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Shred the cooked chicken breast into smaller pieces and place in a bowl.
3. Drizzle honey and sriracha sauce over the chicken and mix thoroughly. Feel free to add more sauce for more heat.
4. Beat and mix the cream cheese, avocado and lemon juice together until the cheese looks like green cream.
5. Line up the wonton wrappers and divide the chicken on them equally, about a large tablespoonful. Place the chicken down the middle diagonally.
6. Dollop the avocado cream on top and sprinkle with the jalapeno or the red pepper, depending of how much heat you want.
7. Bring the opposite corners of the wrapper together at the top. You may have to pierce them through with a toothpick to hold in position. The toothpick will be removed once you take the wontons out of the oven.
8. Place the wontons on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or oiled with cooking spray.
9. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 12- 15 minutes. Or until the wonton wrappers turn golden brown.
10. Remove from the oven, take out the toothpicks, let cool slightly, and enjoy!
CREAM CHEESE, CHOCOLATE AND POMEGRANATE WONTONS
These golden beauties are highly addictive, but baking them instead of frying will allow you to indulge without much guilt. Plus using dark chocolate and pomegranate scores high on the antioxidant scale so I guess you could say that this dessert is good for you too!
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Stir together cream cheese, chocolate chips, and pomegranate seeds until well incorporated.
3. Line up the wonton wrappers and place a heaping teaspoonful of the cheese mix into the centre of each wrapper.
4. Dip your finger in water and run along the edges of the wonton wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half to form a triangle and pinch the edges to seal.
5. Spray both sides of the wonton triangle with cooking spray and place on a cookie sheet.
6. Put in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the wrappers are golden brown. Remember to turn half way through.
7. Plate the wontons and sprinkle with icing sugar, or drizzle with chocolate sauce, and garnish with any remaining pomegranate seeds.
8. Serve warm and try to stop at just one!
I hope you try these out at your next get together. Happy munching!
