WALNUT & LENTIL WONTONS
In the sage words of Papa Paige, these wontons are like cornbread. Not because they taste like cornbread but because they are so delicious you can't eat just one. You keep getting "just one more" and, before you know it, the whole pan is gone. When making the vegan version of this family recipe, we wanted to make sure they were just as delicious as the original. I think it is safe to say we nailed it without sacrificing taste or texture.
The original family recipe used ground beef as the base for the filling. For this veganized version, we swapped the beef for lentils, walnuts, and a little oil. The blend of these three items provides a good texture to the filling and adds healthy fats. Although, I don't think people will mistake the filling for ground beef. However, they will be so wowed by the flavor that they won't miss the ground beef.
Let’s get into the Recipe!
First, prep the lentils by giving them a good rinse. Pour lentils into a strainer and rinse under lukewarm water. Once lentils are rinsed, add them to a medium pot with water and the beef broth base. Boil for 12 minutes. Then drain the remaining water.
In a large mixing bowl, add cooked lentils, finely crushed walnuts, soy sauce, ginger powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, oil, green onion, and instant mashed potato mix. Stir to mix everything. If you have whole or half walnuts, no worries. You can hand crush them to the desired size or use a food processor. The walnut pieces should be small but big enough to add texture to the lentil mixture.
To make the wontons, we add ½ teaspoon of filling to a wonton wrapper. Add water around the edges. Then, roll like an eggroll. I would recommend adding a little more water on the roll's edges to ensure it is sealed. Once all the wontons are done, let them sit in the fridge while the frying oil heats up. This helps dry-out the wontons slightly before frying. If you are making the wontons in advance, you can also freeze them before frying.
When you are ready to fry, carefully add wontons to the oil. Be sure not to overcrowd the pot. This will help get a good crisp on the wontons. Fry for 1 -2 minutes or until the wontons are golden brown. I like my wontons very crispy, so I fry them closer to the 2 minutes mark. Let the wontons rest on a wire rack until they are cool enough to eat.
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Lentil & Walnut Wontons
Ingredients
- ½ C. red lentils
- 1½ C. water
- ½ Tsp vegan beef broth base
- 1 C. walnuts – finely crushed
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tsp ginger powder
- ½ Tsp onion powder
- ½ Tsp garlic powder
- ½ Tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ Tsp avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 stalks fresh green onion
- 1/3 C. instant mash potatoes flakes
- 1 Vegan wonton wrapper package – 12 oz
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Rinse lentils. Add to a small pot with water and beef broth base. Boil for 12 minutes. Drain water and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix lentils, walnuts, soy sauce, ginger powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, oil, green onion, and instant mashed potato mix.
- Add ½ tsp to each wonton wrapper. Add water around the edges and roll to seal.
- Heat oil in a fryer or large stockpot. Oil should fill a third of the fryer or stockpot. Once the oil has reached frying temperature, fry wontons for 1-2 minutes. Wontons should be golden brown.
- Remove from oil and place on a wire rack to cool.
