Chick-UN Wontons in Kale Broth

Things have yet to settle down in my life post-holidays and it’s been frustrating for me because I feel like so little of my time has really been devoted to developing new recipes.  My friend Whitney was over the other day, and lets just say, she’s less than skilled in the kitchen.  I was really hoping to whip up a few great vegan meals with her and teach her a thing or two about cooking.  We flipped through all my new vegan cookbooks, and the overwhelming amount of content in them slowly became a curse rather than a blessing.  I fall apart when I’m presented with too many options and I was finding it impossible to narrow down a dish.  So what did I do?

When in doubt, reference your mom.

One of the first things I EVER remember cooking with my wonderful mother is chicken wontons.   In middle school (I could be way off on the time frame), we learned to make these fried wontons that were essentially just stuffed with shredded chicken and green onions.  I am absolutely OBSESSED with green onions now and I think this recipe may be the reason.

So, I replaced the chicken with chickPEAS and still kept the ample amount of green onions.  I had been eyeing dumpling soup recipes around Christmas time, and that’s where I got the idea to boil the wontons quick and add them to a simple soup.

Whitney loved them and so did I….might have to have mom taste test them though!

FOR THE WONTONS

12 wonton wrappers

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 1/4 cup green onions, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Water for sealing

FOR THE BROTH

5 cups vegetable broth

1 cup water

3 cups chopped kale

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

• For the broth, in a large pot, cook the garlic and ginger in oil over medium heat for 5 minutes
• Add broth and water and bring to a boil
• Once it boils, add kale, salt and pepper, lower to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, covered
• Meanwhile, combine chickpeas, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until chunky
• Remove from processor and stir in green onions
• Place about 1 heaping tbsp of mixture into the middle of a wonton wrapper
• Wipe water on the outer edges of the wrapper and fold wrapper like you would an envelope (or however you want as long as it’s sealed, it doesn’t really matter)
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a little oil so the wontons don’t stick together when they cook
• Add wontons to water and cook for 2-3 minutes until they rise to the top of the pot and stay there
• Remove from water, add to broth mix and serve