Wonton Soup

I saw some miso base on the shelf recently, and fondly remembered miso soup from my own ancient history - probably something like  35 years since I've made miso soup. My original recipe simply mixes water with miso base, then adding little cubes of tofu and some slices of green onion. To tell the truth, I can't imagine foisting that miso soup on my clan, but I can think of ways to incorporate it's goodness into something they would like. Hence, today's wonton soup. It incorporates basic miso soup, but builds on the basic soup by adding familiar wontons. The wontons are fun to put together, and have great potential as a project for young cooks and chefs who want to help in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
2 cups chopped spinach
1 Tbs thinly sliced green onions
2 slices bacon or pancetta, cooked and chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup soft tofu, or ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
15 wonton wrappers

1 quart chicken broth
2 Tbs miso paste
2 cups water
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 Tbs parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add spinach, green onions, cooked, bacon, garlic, and white wine. Cook until spinach turns bright green and begins to wilt, about 1 more minute. Mix in tofu or ricotta, and taste as you season with salt and peppers. Remove from heat.

To make wontons, set a small bowl of water near your wonton wrappers and filling. Put about 1 teaspoons of filling into the center of a wrapper. Use your finger to moisten the edges of the wrapper with water, then fold the wrapper in half over the filling, forming a triangle. Next, bring the two sides of the triangle together, overlapping them, and seal with another dip of your finger into the water. Continue making wontons until you've used up all the filling. There should be about 15 to 20 wontons.

To make the soup, bring the chicken broth, miso paste, water and 1/4 cup of the green onions to a simmer. The wontons should cook in just one layer, so they'll need to be cooked in batches. Add enough wontons to cover the bottom of the simmering soup and cook until they rise to the top of the soup, about 5 minutes. Add remaining wontons and repeat. Add the remaining green onions to the soup.

To serve, ladle several wontons into each soup bowl. Cover with soup. Top with parmesan cheese, if using, and serve.

Serves 4 to 6

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Miso is a soybean based product, which means it's high in protein. It imparts a wonderful flavor to chicken broth ... but is a flavor you might not quickly identify. Enjoy!