Crispy wontons with asparagus and chèvre

A fun way to serve up a favourite vegetable!

I used to think wonton wrappers were only used for dumplings and egg rolls, but I’ve since learned how versatile they truly are. My bacon, lettuce and tomato wonton cups are one great example, and this recipe is another one. The combination of goat cheese, lemon and asparagus makes the filling really delicious. Choose slender stalks of asparagus so they’ll fit into the tiny wonton crisps.

Ingredients

• 12 small (3×3 inch or 7.5×7.5 cm) wonton wrappers
• Vegetable oil, for brushing
• 1/3 cup (80 g) goat cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons (26 g) sour cream or Greek yogurt
• Few grinds each salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 12 asparagus spears

Method

• Start by baking the wonton wraps – this can be done up to 72 hours in advance. Preheat oven to 400F. Brush both sides of each wrap very lightly with a neutral cooking oil. Turn a muffin pan upside down and drape the wraps in the spaces; you should be able to do six at a time with a 12-compartment pan.
• To prevent the wontons from fusing together, fill the gaps with chopsticks (you can buy them in bulk very inexpensively at Asian supermarkets.

• Bake for 3 minutes. Carefully remove the chopsticks and bake 2 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let the pan cool to room temperature then repeat with remaining wonton wrappers.
• Store cooled, baked wontons in an airtight container for up to 72 hours.
• Filling can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance. In a bowl, blend together the softened chèvre, sour cream, chives, salt and pepper, lemon zest and juice; stir until smooth. Transfer mixture to a small zippered food storage bag and refrigerate. Remove from fridge 1 hour before assembling wontons.
• Cook your trimmed asparagus spears until just tender and let cool. I like to do this in a hot water bath; you can read the step-by-step process in this recipe for asparagus and smoked salmon rolls – if your stalks are slender, they will take less time.
• Assemble wontons no more than 30 minutes before serving so the crispy shells do not get soggy. Snip a corner of the bag holding the filling (to make it into a simple piping bag) and gently squeeze about 2 teaspoons of filling into the bottom of each wonton shell.
• Place a piece of asparagus in the shell (you may need to feed it in from the end if it won’t fit through the slot on the top). Place on a platter and serve.

Makes 12 portions; recipe can easily be multiplied.