Successes? Failures?
I was just looking at a recipe for ravioli that surprised me by specifying wonton wrappers, and that got me thinking about the first time I used wonton wrappers for something vaguely ravioli-like (I made Asian short ribs a la Ming Tsai one day, then used the leftover meat to stuff wonton wrappers which I poached and served in a broth with grilled bok choy and marinated bamboo on another). Flavorwise the result was delicious. but the wrappers were a bit too thin to be boiled, and the heavy filling might have undermined the whole idea where a lighter filling (like squash or cheese) wouldn't. Too, I realize that wrapper thickness varies brand by brand and another brand would have provided a better result, I've never been tempted to do that again and tend to use wrappers for pot stickers that are either browned and steamed or just steamed.
Other uses: I have boiled the wrappers and layered them, though, to make little individual "lasagnas". I once tried just boiling the skins like noodles to make a soup, and wasn't especially happy with that--dried egg noodles would have been better. And somewhere I had some wicked good little snacks that were wonton wrappers coated with parm (prolly egg dipped first) and baked until crispy.
Anyway, I bought a bunch of wrappers a few months ago for a major dumpling project I never got around to, so I have a big bunch in the freezer to play with, use up, or throw away. Toward that end, the butternut squash ravioli recipe (I've pasted it in below) sounds like a harmless little adventure. In fact, I can just picture it garnished with some of those little parm snacks I mentioned--that would be a fine combination.
Anyway, I'm just wondering what fun things others have done with these wrappers--would love to get some new ideas.
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Sweet Potato Wonton Skin Ravioli with Browned Sage Butter
2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, room temperature
1 12-ounce package wonton wrappers
1 large egg, beaten to blend
Fried shallots and sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large shallots, cut crosswise into thin rounds, separated into rings
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
8 large fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
preparationFor ravioli: Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil rimmed baking sheet. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise; place cut side down on baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 35 minutes; cool. Scoop potato pulp out of skins into small bowl. Spoon 11/3 cups pulp into medium bowl. (Reserve any remaining potato pulp for another use.) Add sugar and butter; mash well. Season filling with salt and pepper.
Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place wonton wrappers on work surface. Using pastry brush, brush wrappers with beaten egg. Place 1/2 tablespoon sweet-potato filling in center of each. Fold each wrapper diagonally over filling, forming triangle. Seal edges. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet. Let stand at room temperature while preparing fried shallots and sauce. (Can be made up to 5 days ahead. Freeze, then cover and keep frozen. Do not thaw before cooking.)
For fried shallots and sauce: Heat vegetable oil in heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, fry shallots until crisp and dark brown, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shallots to paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Cook butter in large pot over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add sage and red pepper.
Meanwhile, working in batches, cook ravioli in pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well. Add ravioli to pot with butter sauce; toss to coat. Transfer to plates, drizzling any sauce from pot over ravioli. Top with fried shallots and pine nuts; serve immediately.
Makes 6 (first-course) or 4 (main-course) servings.
