September 16, 2010
“Why Do You Build Me Up…Butternut Squash Baby”- Baked Wonton with Roasted Butternut Squash Filling and Tomato Dipping Sauce This past weekend I went to the season opener for USC Trojan football (don’t worry— I’m still a die-hard FLORIDA GATOR fan).  As I leaving the game and walking through USC campus it got me thinking back to the days of late night snacking in the dorms when I was a freshman at University of Florida.  No, I’m not referring to “munchies”, but you know as a college student you tend to stay up pretty late, which totally throws off your eating schedule.  Back during my freshman year, my best friends and I had to resort to snacks such Totinos Pizza Rolls, Easy-Mac, toast with spray butter and bowls of cold cereal.  These were far from appetizing, but when you are a lazy college student with no kitchen, it seemed to do the trick. Okay, enough reminiscing.  Now that I’m a quasi-real person, better known as an adult (although some may beg to differ), I think a more “classy” late night snack would be more suitable for my age group.  So, I got to creating in the kitchen tonight and made up some delish baked wontons.  Enjoy! What You Need: 1 Medium Butternut Squash (peeled, seeded and medium diced) 1 Large Shallot (minced) Rosemary (to taste) Fennel Seed (to taste) 2 Cloves Garlic (chopped) Kosher Salt (to taste) Red Pepper Flakes (to taste) Olive Oil Cayenne Pepper (to taste) 1 Tbsp. Sugar Cracked Black Pepper (to taste) Tomato Sauce (for dipping) Wonton Skins Set Oven to 400 degrees. 1. Place chopped squash, shallots and garlic in a medium bowl.  Drizzle just a bit of olive oil into the bowl and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with salt, cracked pepper, red pepper flakes and sugar (you can always season more after).  Place mixture onto a sheet pan and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until squash is knife tip tender (a sharp knife should easily pierce the squash). 2. Pour contents back into the medium bowl from earlier.  Using a food processor, immersion blender or just a fork/masher, process or mash the squash mixture until it resembles a chunky puree.  Taste and season to your liking. 3. Next, place a wonton skin on your work surface.  Arrange the wonton skin so that a corner is pointed toward you.  Place a small dollop of squash mixture in the center of the wonton.  First, fold the corner closest to you, toward its opposite corner so that it just covers the dollop.  Then, take the corners on the sides and have it meet the middle.  Then, take the remaining corner to meet the others.  It should form what looks like a little pillow or envelope.  Pinch the corners to form a tighter pocket. 4. Place filled wontons onto a greased sheet pan.  Spray with non-stick spray or brush with olive oil.  Then, place the tray in the oven and turn on the broiler.  Allow the wontons to just slightly brown.  Then, flip them over to let the other side crisp up as well. 5. Remove the baked wontons from the oven and serve with a warm tomato or marinara sauce.

“Why Do You Build Me Up…Butternut Squash Baby”- Baked Wonton with Roasted Butternut Squash Filling and Tomato Dipping Sauce

This past weekend I went to the season opener for USC Trojan football (don’t worry— I’m still a die-hard FLORIDA GATOR fan).  As I leaving the game and walking through USC campus it got me thinking back to the days of late night snacking in the dorms when I was a freshman at University of Florida. 

No, I’m not referring to “munchies”, but you know as a college student you tend to stay up pretty late, which totally throws off your eating schedule.  Back during my freshman year, my best friends and I had to resort to snacks such Totinos Pizza Rolls, Easy-Mac, toast with spray butter and bowls of cold cereal.  These were far from appetizing, but when you are a lazy college student with no kitchen, it seemed to do the trick.

Okay, enough reminiscing.  Now that I’m a quasi-real person, better known as an adult (although some may beg to differ), I think a more “classy” late night snack would be more suitable for my age group.  So, I got to creating in the kitchen tonight and made up some delish baked wontons.  Enjoy!

What You Need:

1 Medium Butternut Squash (peeled, seeded and medium diced)

1 Large Shallot (minced)

Rosemary (to taste)

Fennel Seed (to taste)

2 Cloves Garlic (chopped)

Kosher Salt (to taste)

Red Pepper Flakes (to taste)

Olive Oil

Cayenne Pepper (to taste)

1 Tbsp. Sugar

Cracked Black Pepper (to taste)

Tomato Sauce (for dipping)

Wonton Skins

Set Oven to 400 degrees.

1. Place chopped squash, shallots and garlic in a medium bowl.  Drizzle just a bit of olive oil into the bowl and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with salt, cracked pepper, red pepper flakes and sugar (you can always season more after).  Place mixture onto a sheet pan and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until squash is knife tip tender (a sharp knife should easily pierce the squash).

2. Pour contents back into the medium bowl from earlier.  Using a food processor, immersion blender or just a fork/masher, process or mash the squash mixture until it resembles a chunky puree.  Taste and season to your liking.

3. Next, place a wonton skin on your work surface.  Arrange the wonton skin so that a corner is pointed toward you.  Place a small dollop of squash mixture in the center of the wonton.  First, fold the corner closest to you, toward its opposite corner so that it just covers the dollop.  Then, take the corners on the sides and have it meet the middle.  Then, take the remaining corner to meet the others.  It should form what looks like a little pillow or envelope.  Pinch the corners to form a tighter pocket.

4. Place filled wontons onto a greased sheet pan.  Spray with non-stick spray or brush with olive oil.  Then, place the tray in the oven and turn on the broiler.  Allow the wontons to just slightly brown.  Then, flip them over to let the other side crisp up as well.

5. Remove the baked wontons from the oven and serve with a warm tomato or marinara sauce.

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