A few weeks back I had the unique pleasure of leading a cooking class for children. It's one of my favorite things to do. I appreciate any chance to affect young people's perspective on eating, and they are such honest students. They always approach a class with a healthy dose of suspicion. "Will this really be worth my time and attention?" I so love when that question gets answered in the affirmative and they "click" in and decide to get involved.
So I wisely started with the class by making Brownies. Yes chocolate and sugar does tend to trend positive among the 10 year old set. The rest of the menu was:
Won Ton Soup
Oven "Fried" Chicken Fingers with Buttermilk Chive Sauce
Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Roasted Broccoli
Pretty kid friendly I thought, with lots of easy and fun kitchen skills to learn. And then I received an email from the hostess of the party... "One of the children is a vegetarian, can we make sure the soup is vegetarian?"
Well so much for my lingering doubts that children wouldn't eat the broccoli! I was naively surprised at this news and I felt every pound the meat and potatoes midwestern boy that I was raised to be. But why wouldn't I expect a vegetarian kid among the mix. I happily include vegetarian options at all my catered events, many of my friends are vegetarian and I'm always striving to make several of our own weekly meals vegetable based. Did I somehow imagine vegetarian parents cooking up rib steaks and lamb chops for their kinder folks? Sometimes Big Mary amazes himself with obtuseness...
And so, the results of my re-thinking are presented here. As is usually the case, when required to think outside the box, something newly delicious has presented itself. The challenge was to make vegetarian won ton soup that would please the meat eaters as much as the vegetarians. For the stock I turned to lots of roasted root vegetables, heightened by mushrooms for that satisfying umami base note and accented by spices used in Vietnamese Pho Soup (cinnamon, star anise, ginger and coriander). The dumplings also relied on mushrooms for a meaty texture, augmented by mashed tofu for consistency.
I am happy to report that the result received thumbs up, both diminutive and full grown, across the board. While the recipe for the broth takes some time, it's mostly non active time while the broth simmers. Feel free to make it a few days ahead, or weeks ahead and freeze it. The filling is pretty easily made by adults, and making won tons, of any style or flavor, is a great hands on, kid friendly activity.
Vegetable Won Tons
Makes Approximately 24 Won Tons
Ingredients:
Vegetable Oil 1
Tablespoon
Cabbage ½ cup, finely chopped
Shiitake Mushrooms 1 ½ cups,
finely diced (approx 12 large shiitake
caps)
Carrot 1
small, shredded
Fresh Ginger 1
teaspoon finely grated
Water Chestnuts 1
Tablespoon, finely chopped
Med or Firm Tofu ½ cup
finely diced
Sesame Oil 1 ½
teaspoon
Garlic 1
medium clove, minced
Soy Sauce 1
Tablespoon
Hoisin Sauce 2
teaspoons
Scallions ¼
cup white and some green, sliced
Cilantro leaves 2
Tablespoons, chopped
Salt 1/8
teaspoon
Wonton Wrappers
1 Egg Beaten with 2
Tablespoons of water
Heat oil in a medium skillet.
Add cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, carrot and ginger. Sauté over high heat 3 – 4 minutes until vegetables are
cooked. Add remaining ingredients
(except won ton wrappers) and transfer mix to the work bowl of a food
processor, fitted with the knife blade.
Pulse several times until mixture is broken down to a very fine chop.
Lay out several wonton wrappers on a cutting board with the point
facing up (like a diamond shape) Paint the top two edges of the wonton very
lightly with the egg wash. Place a
rounded teaspoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top
corner of the wrapper. Press down the
edges to seal and force out any air in the wont ton. Paint one of the bottom corners of the
triangle with some egg wash and press it into the opposite corner, forming the
wonton.
Boil gently in salted water for 3 minutes. Serve in the roasted vegetable broth. Garnish with fresh cilantro or scallion
slivers.
Roasted Vegetable Broth
Makes about 1 ½ QT
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons
Vegetable Oil
Carrots
4 medium, well washed and chopped into inch
pieces
Celery 3
stalks, well washed and chopped into inch
pieces
Onion 1
extra large, cut into chunks (unpeeled)
Parsnip 1
large, well washed and chopped into inch
pieces
Button Mushrooms 10oz ,
brushed clean and cut in halves or quarters
Cinnamon Stick 2
Star, Anise 2
stars
Fresh Ginger 5
slices about the size of a quarter
Coriander Seeds 2
teaspoons, crushed under a heavy pan
Garlic 5
small cloves – smashed with the side of a knife
Soy Sauce 1
Tablespoon
Parsley A
small handful, stems are fine
Fresh Thyme 3
large sprigs
2 1/2 quart water
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In separate bowls, toss carrots, celery, onions, parsnips and mushrooms with some of the oil. Scatter these vegetables on several aluminum
foil lined baking sheets. DO NOT CROWD
THE VEGETABLES, LEAVE PLENTY OF ROOM.
This will allow them to brown some and not steam. Roast for 8 – 10 minutes, letting them get
some color.
While the vegetables are roasting, place the whole spices in the
stock pot. Warm them over medium heat
until they begin to release aroma. Turn
off heat and add water, herbs and soy sauce.
As vegetables are roasted, add them to the stock pot as well. When everything is in the stock pot, bring to
a boil over medium high heat. Once the
water comes to a boil, lower heat to maintain the stock at a gentle simmer for
75 minutes. Let cool and strain
well.
Press gently on the solids in the strainer to release excess
stock. Measure stock, you should have about 6 cups. If you have more or if the flavor is weak, return stock to the pot and reduce until the flavor is as strong as you want. Adjust seasoning with salt &
pepper as desired.
Copyright Big Mary’s Kitchen 2013
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