Wonton Soup

Recently I started to think about the foods my family ate when I was a child and even though my little guy is still way too young for solids, it got me to thinking about the foods I could/would make for my family. My mom made wonton soup practically every night when we were kids. Like most moms, she had a day job and then came home to her second job as a full-time mom. I remembered how she quickly folded a couple of wontons and dropped them into a boiling soup pot just in time for dinner. Wonton soup was such a delicious way to start dinner.

If you have never had the pleasure, please do go out and try this. Wontons are little bite-sized dumplings usually filled with a mixture of meat and seafood. (In this case, chicken and shrimp.) The wonton wrapper is made of a thin dough similar to pasta but tastes much lighter. Wontons are often dropped directly into soup or pre-poached into boiling water before being added to a soup. A few minutes in a hot bath and they are transformed from smooth semi-opaque triangles into ruffled, translucent silky bundles.

Although it is an extra step, I prefer to cook them in boiling water first. Some wrappers are a bit starchy and may change the flavour and the consistency of the soup.

Admittedly, making a batch of wontons is a bit of work if you decide to make a full batch... However, if you are making just enough to a pot of soup, then once you make the filling it shouldn't take much longer to wrap a couple of wontons and throw them into a soup.(The filling should keep for about 3-5 days in the refrigerator.)

Alternatively, you can make the entire batch of wontons and freeze them. Once they are made, you can just plop them into a boiling broth and have wonton soup in minutes without having to defrost them first.


Wonton Soup

For the filling:
1/2 lb ground chicken
1/2 lb shrimp, chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp minced ginger
1/4 c water
salt & pepper to taste

1 package of wonton wrappers

For the soup:
750ml low sodium chicken broth
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp sesame oil

optional: lightly beaten egg

1. Gently mix together the filling except the water. Meanwhile bring to a boil a small pot of water. using a teaspoon, drop a small meatball into the water once the water reaches a rolling boil. When the meatball floats to the top, leave in the water for an additional minute and scoop out onto a plate. Allow to cool. Taste meatball for seasoning and adjust accordingly. (Once you have made this recipe several times, you will find this added step is unnecessary.)

2. Once satisfied with seasonings for the filling, place a teaspoon of the mixture into the center of the wonton wrapper. Dip your finger into a small bowl of water and wet two adjoining sides (in an L-shape). Fold the opposite corner over until the edges meet and gently press the wonton closed, removing any air pockets. You will be left with a triangle shaped wonton. Place the wonton on a large platter and repeat until all the wonton wrappers or meat mixture is finished. Do not overlap the wontons on the platter. If you have additional meat left over, a great way to use them is to make tiny meatballs to add to your soup.

3. If you are not using the wontons immediately, lay the wontons out on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze for ten minutes. Then store the wontons in a freezer bag for later use.

For the soup:

1. Bring to a boil the chicken broth and green onions.

2. In another pot, bring water to a boil. One by one drop wontons into the water and stir to ensure the wontons do not stick together. Once the wontons, rise to the surface, scoop out the wontons and move to the pot with the boiling chicken broth. Reduce temperature and simmer for another 2 minutes.

3. If using, stir broth in the pot so that the liquid is squirling about. Gently pour the lightly beaten egg into the broth. After about five seconds, swirl a wooden spoon around the pot until the egg is cooked into whispy strands.

4. Remove from heat and add sesame oil. Serve immediately.

If you are serving this as an appetizer, it easily serves four people with about 5 wontons each. If you are having this as a main, it feeds 2-3 people with 8 to 10 wontons each.

For your own variations, you can experiment with different types of meat - pork or beef, or consider the additional of other seasonings including chili, white pepper, or five spice.
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What To Do With... Capers

These salty little darlings are one of my favourite things. Capers are the pickled or salted bud of a Mediterranean shrub aptly named a caper bush. (What else?) A jar of these briny little nubs don’t last long at our house.

Like anchovies, capers play a great supporting cast member. They have a special affinity for fish and chicken. They add a brightness to these delicate flavours that doesn’t overwhelm.

There are a multitude of uses for capers, and I love them all:

As an add in:
1. Added to a pasta sauce – like a puttanesca
2. Chopped up and added to a tuna fish sandwich mixture or potato salad
3. Black Mission Fig and Olive Tapenade

Classic Preparations:
4. Sole Grenobloise: a lemon butter sauce with capers on top of sole (or any white fish)
5. Garnished on top of smoked salmon with sprigs of dill
6. Included in classic sauces such as tartar sauce; remoulade and Cesar dressing
7. Chicken Veracruzano: a delicious chicken dish with an olive, onion, and tomato topping
8. Chicken Piccata: lightly breaded chicken breasts served with a sauce made with chicken broth, capers, and butter.
9. Added to bruschetta
10. Chicken Marbella: This classic Silver Palate recipe is a go-to recipe in our home. It’s delicious and so easy to make. It is really great for a crowd and the flavours are better the next day so this makes it a great make-ahead recipe for the holidays. This recipe is all over the internet and most versions I saw hardly deviated from the original. It’s delicious.

Chicken Marbella
Adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook

12-15 boneless, skinless chicken thighs*
1 head of garlic, peeled and pureed
2 tbsp oregano (powdered)
½ c white wine vinegar
1/2c olive oil**
1c pitted prunes
1c green olives
1/2c capers (with a bit of the juice)
1c brown sugar**
1c white wine
1/4c fresh parsley, chopped coarsely

1. Marinate the chicken in the garlic puree, oregano, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives and capers. (The longer the better, the original recipe calls for overnight and I think its worth the wait.)
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Pour chicken and marinate into an oven proof dish, add white wine and sprinkle brown sugar.
4. Bake for an hour. Serve over rice, garnish with parsley.

*we’ve tried it with chicken breasts, too but thighs are much better
**I have reduced the amount of sugar and olive oil – this works for me but others might consider it sacrilege.

What To Do With... Fennel aka Anise

Let me introduce you to a good friend of mine, Fennel. Fennel, this is everybody. (I had planned to publish this great photo for our introductions today, but when I saw it on the preview, I knew it wouldn't do. So, unfortunately, we have to go without today...) (Updated November 18th, 2008 - Hungry Gal note: A photo is worth a 100 words...)



Fennel and I only met in my twenties but I feel like we have been friends forever. Fennel sometimes goes by the name Anise and is a hearty but delicate tasting vegetable. It smells lovely and herbaceous and has a mild liquorice flavour that further mellows when cooked. But we almost didn’t become friends. In my younger years, I was too haughty and impetuous, “I am not going to like fennel.., I’ll pass.” But then we met, and I realized I was wrong and now, all is forgiven and we are pals.

So, if you see Fennel at the market, I encourage you to buy a bulb or two and try it. You just might like it.

Fennel is great raw or braised. With a sophisticated yet mild flavour, it’s more versatile than you think. It’s great with rich foods like cream and butter and also pairs beautifully with seafood.

Basic Preparation:
Cut off the fronds and stalks and put aside if you wish, for garnish and stock. Trim the fennel by trimming the bottom of the bulb and cutting the fennel in half. Now that it is in a manageable size, you can dice it, slice it thinly or cut it into large chunks.

Some ideas for Fennel:

Roasted
1. Roast it: Slice thinly and toss with olive oil and herbs. Bake in an oven at 400 degrees until roasted.
2. Roast it with other vegetables: Toss in olive oil and roast with other vegetables such as peppers, onions, and zucchinis. Bake in a 400 degree oven until the vegetable’s edges are crisped while the rest of the vegetable soften.

Au Gratin:
3. Baked it: Slice paper thin and add to a potato gratin with crispy bacon

Raw in a Salad:
4. Throw it in a salad: dice raw fennel and add to your next salad (alongside some juicy tomatoes, and buttery boston lettuce)
5. Shave it: Shave fennel and plate with oranges and blue cheese salad (similar to my raw beet salad)

Braised:
6. Braised it: Cut in large chunks and braise in white wine with leeks or onions
7. Serve it as a main dish: Braise in white wine, with chicken thighs, cannellini beans, tomatoes and onions.

With Seafood:
7. Steam it with mussels: Dice and toss into a moules mariniere (steamed mussels)
9. Saute it: Slice thinly and saute with butter and served with a portion of salmon
10. Throw it in a crab linguine: Dice and cook in a crab linguine pasta dish. Here’s one to try out, add about 1/2c diced fennel when sautéing the garlic and chillies. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/linguinewithcrab_66026.shtml

If there is an ingredient you would like to see for future, drop me a line! Suggestions are always welcome.

A Civilized Picnic Lunch

I have been inspired of late. Not sure if it's the fleeting re-appearance of summer or the end of wedding planning season. (The lead up to getting married takes up far too much emotional and intellectual energy even for us non-bridezilla types and perhaps now that I am happily married, my brain has refocused on my primary pre-occupation: food!)

Paris is truly one of my favourite places because of its outdoor market culture. Although, I must confess that I have never met an outdoor market, I didn’t like. Markets in Paris sell everything, books, clothes, flowers and of course, foods. As we explored neighbourhoods and strolled down streets, we stumbled upon many markets in Paris. We weaved through markets, peering in to see what the many vendors had on offer, often picking up an impossibly light baguette, some plums, and nuts. We rounded out our market goodies with a thick slice of buttery pâté, a small wheel of rich and oozy brie, and a small handful of bittersweet chocolate squares. On a lazy afternoon, these are the best lunches – an impromptu gathering of nibbles and bites.

Today, I visited my favourite market of all markets - St. Lawrence Market with the intention of coming home with such a lunch for Ryan and me. I bought a basket full of goodies for our lunch: bresaola (salty, air-cured beef sliced thinner than paper – oh heaven!); reggiano parmesan, mini sesame breadsticks and Callebaut bittersweet chocolate. Instead of buying the delicious pâtés and rillettes they had on offer, I decided to make my own pâté. So much for a low effort lunch... but at least there will be some for freezing. Very few things are as luxurious as a smooth, rich potted pâté. In fact, this type of pate is low on the cooking effort scale. Like love, this pâté is meant to be savoured and shared.

Truffled Chicken Pâté - Terrine De Foies De Volaille

1 lb fresh chicken livers (cleaned)
1 c onion (finely minced)
1 tbsp butter
1/2 oz cognac
2 bay leaves
1 tsp truffle oil
3/4 c butter

1. Roughly chop chicken livers.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan, add chicken livers, onions, and bay leaves.
3. Cook until chicken livers are slightly pink. Add cognac. Heat until alcohol has evaporated. (This should take a minute or two.) Remove off heat. Cover and cool.
4. When the mixture has slightly cooled, drain the liquid, reserving about 1/2c. (use it to thin out the mixture as you process it, as required.)
5. Process mixture in batches in a food processor. You are looking for a smooth creamy consistency. Set aside to cool completely.
6. If you haven't already, take the butter out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.
7. When mixture is fully cooled, and the butter is at room temperature, fully incorporate butter and truffle oil into the pâté mixture with a spatula.
8. Pack into small pots for serving. If not serving right away, melt butter in a saucepan, and pour melted butter (without the milk solids) to preserve the pâté. Or pack into an air-tight container to freeze for another day.