226/984 - Prawn mousse wontons with basil and burnt butter sauce

You know that feeling you get when you cook something and it tastes even better than you expected? 

This was the fourth degustation course and definitely my favourite by a mile. When I found the prawn mousse recipe I knew immediately that it would be a part of this special meal, and also that it would be stuffed inside wontons, given my love of Asian food. 

The prawn mousse itself was very simple to make, especially with a Thermomix on hand, though I did end up with much more than I actually needed. Given there were eight courses I was careful to keep the size of the serves modest, in this case with only three wontons per person. So once I had made 19 (one for testing purposes of course!) I was not quite sure what was to become of the half bowl of left over squidgy prawn mousse. I decided that mixing it with eggs and scrambling it would be a good idea as prawns and cream are both lovely partners for eggs. Trev and the boys gave it a huge thumbs up! 

The day before the big meal I decided it would be a good idea to try making my first batch of wonton wrappers. I figured it couldn't be too difficult and not too much different from making my own pasta. It turns out that it takes much, much longer, especially if you decide to hand roll it (why didn't I use the pasta machine?) and then become just a bit too obsessed with making sure each square was the perfect thickness and well, square. 

It was a lot of fun making them though and the taste was absolutely worth the effort. On the big night I cooked the wontons in the style taught to me by my lovely friend Venus who took charge of the dumpling cooking at my birthday celebration last year. You put a splash of oil in the pan and wait for it to heat. Gently place the wontons in the pan and add some water to create steam. Keep adding water as required to keep the steam going, and an occasional extra splash of oil. 

The result is gorgeous crispy wontons that are not heavy at all and are perfectly cooked throughout. Needless to say my guests were very happy after eating this dish, although I think we all wished I had made many more than I did.