Sweet Potato & Black Bean Wontons

Hello new favorite Lent/Veggie Monster recipe!  Thank you Nikki!! One of my lovely co-workers made these and since she is such a lovely gal, she let me try some!  The original recipe was for empanada's and Nikki was looking for a way to make them a little smaller and easier to share with more people.  Enter wonton wrappers.  Also enter, Cilantro-Lime Guacamole. Delish!!

Here's the original recipe: Sweet Potato & Black Bean Empanadas - My Recipes.com

Nikki's Cilantro-Lime Guacamole [with a Snow's twist ;)]

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado, sliced and gently mashed

2 heaping Tbsp. of lite sour cream

Half of your diced jalapeño - see below - [we always add jalapeno to our guacamole so this make's it Snow ;)]

2-3 Tbsp. of fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

s/p

Directions:

1.  Combine all ingredients and mix until just combined. Press saran wrap into the mixture and refrigerate until ready to serve. This step allows the flavors to develop, not necessary, but so worth it! *Double or triple the guacamole recipe if you plan to take this dish to an event/potluck.

Here is the Wonton recipe with my notes and substitutions:

Ingredients:

2  medium-lg. sweet potatoes  [you will use 1 1/2 sweet potatoes for the mixture]

1 Tbsp. cumin seeds

1/2 - whole jalapeño, seeds removed, finely diced - portion into two equal piles

1 - 12oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup green onions, chopped

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tsp.  chile powder

1/2 tsp. kosher OR sea salt

1 pkg. of nasoya wonton wrappers [Thanks to Harlee, I found these with the vegetarian & soy items in the produce section of my local Hannafords]

1 egg white, lightly beaten, pastry brush

Small bowl of olive oil & pastry-grill brush

Directions:

1. Poke some holes in your sweet potatoes and place them in an oven at 400deg. for 45-60 minutes.  I usually place the potatoes in as I preheating the oven, there's no harm in this and probably saves time?! Let's go with sure it does.

2.  Using a small sauté pan, toast the cumin seeds over medium-high heat.  Make sure you stir the seeds to prevent them from burning.  This should take 1-2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and using a spice grinder, process until ground - I didn't go nuts with this, you won't feel like you're eating hard pieces of seed if you don't completely process.

3.  Slice your jalapeño, remove the seeds and finely dice [I use my KitchenAid chopper for this] and set 1/2 of the jalapeño [reserve half of the jalapeño for the guacamole] in a medium size mixing bowl. Add the cumin, black beans, green onions, cilantro, chile powder & salt.

Set aside

4.  Separate an egg white from the yolk of one large egg. Mix with a pastry brush or fork. You will need a pastry/oil-grill brush to use on the wonton wrappers.  This is so simple! 

• Wash your hands!
• Crack an egg on a flat, hard surface
• Break off half of the egg shell [over a clean, small bowl] and immediately invert the other half of the egg shell to hold the egg like a bowl. Some of the whites may break away during this process.
• Pour the other half of the egg shell with the remaining egg into your opposite hand and let the whites fall through your fingers. The egg yolk will sit nicely on top of your fingers. Discard yolk or place in a tupperware container and save for future baking [not too long].

5.  Your sweet potatoes should be ready! Carefully remove from the oven, slice in half and scoop out the cooked goodness. Lower your oven to 350deg.  I only used a 1/3 of the sweet potatoes but use your discretion. I wanted to use the entire package of wonton wrappers so I could freeze some for later consumption so I increased the amount of my main ingredients. :) Okay!

Add the sweet potatoes to your black bean mixture. Use a potato masher and mash until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

5.  Now it's time to assemble! Gather some cookie sheets, line with parchment paper and place next to your sweet potato mixture.  

• Brush two sides of your wonton with the egg white wash. 
• Place 1 Tbsp [NOT heaping] of the mixture in the middle of the wrapper and fold the wonton into a triangle
• Press and seal the edges tightly. The egg white acts like glue and will then allow you to evenly distribute the filling into the air pockets of your triangle.  Trust me, this makes a difference! It allows you to actually use 1 Tbsp. of filling in your wonton and evenly disperse the filling for even cooking.  Press the filling [lightly] from the middle to the lower edges of the wrapper.
• Place on the cookie sheet and brush with good olive oil before baking at 350 deg. for 13 minutes

6. While the wonton's are cooking, continue to assemble. Assess how many you plan to devour right away and adjust the amount of Guacamole you will need.  We placed about half of the entire volume in an airtight container to pop out, thaw and bake at another time. Make sure you separate the soon to be frozen wontons with parchment paper.

7. Remove from oven at 13 minutes and immediately remove from pan and onto cooling racks. I simply drag the parchment paper off the cookie sheet onto the counter or wire rack to cool.

8. Serve with a small bowl of dip for each person and 5-8 wontons. Enjoy!

I realize this recipe is long winded, but if you've read my blog before this shouldn't be a surprise. I like to explain why I do something or take an extra step in the recipe. I have found that when I am following a recipe for the first time and I say, "Do you think it's supposed to look like that?" to myself, I want an answer! I want to know why I use egg whites and not just water.  If you're a confident chef and you know what will work in your kitchen, go for it, make changes to suit your style of cooking.  

As always, read the entire recipe before starting, measure out all of your ingredients [or as much as possible] first, gather your equipment and then get to some fun and cook!