Bob Blumer, chef and Canadian(Inspired by Bob Blumer) At Chanukah, it’s traditional to eat fried foods: crispy potato latkes (pancakes), sweet jelly doughnuts (known as sufganiyot in Hebrew). I fell in love with Canadian chef Bob Blumer while I lived in Toronto. He had a TV show called “The Surreal Gourmet” and cooked fun and delicious foods out of an RV decked out like a huge toaster (complete with toast popping out of the top). Bob believes that food should be delicious, fun and amusing. He loves to make things that remind you of something else: a pink, frothy drink served up in Pepto-Bismol bottles, for instance. Or roasted cauliflower bites served up in popcorn containers. When I saw his recipe for Chocolate Wontons – I thought this would be great to make for CHANUKAH. Because: a) they are fried b) it’s a participatory experience: kids and adults get to make their own (but have an adult do the actual frying) c) people can choose which ingredients they want to put inside. d) Everyone has a lot of fun making them and then eating them! I have been making these around Chanukah-time now for three years and they are a huge hit! They taste like a cross between a banana fritter and a rich and gooey S’more. Who doesn’t love those?!
Place a small bowl of warm water beside wonton wrappers.
Put a single wonton wrapper on a clean, dry surface in front of you.
Schmear 1 scant teaspoon of peanut butter onto the center.
Schmear 1 scant teaspoon of marshmallow fluff on top of peanut butter.
Press down a banana slice on top of peanut butter and top with chocolate.
Dip your finger in water and trace a circle on the wonton wrapper around the stack of ingredients (water is the glue of wonton wrappers). Pinch and seal wrapper around the ingredients. Be sure that seams are tightly sealed to keep frying oil from seeping in.
Pour oil into a small, tall pot until it is 3 inches deep. Heat oil until it reaches 350°F. (I actually use an electric deep frying pan.) Use a candy thermometer to check temperature (can buy at the grocery).
When oil is ready, fry 4 wontons at a time for approximately 1 minute, or until wonton wrappers are golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Dust with powdered sugar. Then drizzle with chocolate sauce. Let cool for 1 minute before serving.
Notes
Just be careful to let the oil cool and dispose of it in a jar (do not pour it down the drain.)
Wontons can be wrapped earlier in the day. Cover with a damp dishtowel and refrigerate. Do not let wontons touch. To minimize stickage, dust the surface of the storage plate and the wontons themselves with corn starch. Additional wontons do not require extra frying oil.
