If you’ve noticed on my feed, I’m not a big fan of sweets. Or I at least don’t have a big sweet tooth. So, I made a tahini and lemon sauce to go with these date and almond dessert wontons to cut through the sweetness of the dates.
Tahini and dates is a flavor combination that I was first introduced to in college. When I would visit the apartments of my Saudi friends, we would have coffee and sugary dates dipped in a tahini sauce. Something about the bitter coffee, sweet dates, and savory tahini made for great late night conversations with friends.
This dessert definitely brought back those memories with the date and tahini flavors.
To make the filling for the wontons, finely chop some dates and almonds (you could also use walnuts or pistachios, both would be delicious!). After chopping them, I add them to a food processor. I know it seems redundant to chop them before the food processor, but I just feel like it helps out my food processor if I give them a head start.
Also to the food processor you’ll add the juice of an orange, pulsing to combine. Once it is all combined, add the sesame seeds to the filling.
Then, it’s just like filling regular wontons. A little bit of filling, wet the edges of the wonton wrapper, and then fold it into your desired shape, making sure to press out any air. Then fry. It’s such a simple dessert. It would be great for an occasion where you want a bite-sized dessert or sweet bite. Admittedly, I’ve been eating them for breakfast with my coffee this week.
Let me know if you like the date an tahini combination as much as I do! Also, if you try it with different nuts I would love to know how they turn out. And I hope you enjoy these date and almond dessert wontons!
Date and Almond Dessert Wontons
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 juice and zest of orange
- 2 tsp sessame seeds
- 6-8 oz wonton wrappers
- oil for frying
- 3-4 tbsp tahini
- 1 juice of lemon
Instructions
- Remove the pits from the dates and roughly chop the dates. If using whole almonds, also give them a rough chop.
- Place the dates, almonds, and orange juice and zest in a food processor, and pulse until the dates and almonds are finely chopped and almost form a paste.
- Place a small amount of date mixture into the wonton wrapper (1-2tsp of filling) and seal the wonton by wetting the edges with a little bit of water. Press to make sure there is no air left in the wonton.
- Heat the oil to 375 degrees (it will come down when you put the wontons in it). Fry the wontons until they are golden and crispy.
- Mix the tahini and lemon juice together for a dipping sauce. You can thin it with 1-2 tbsp of water if needed.
- Enjoy!
