Edamame Mushroom Wontons with Dipping Sauce

After making my baked banana, chocolate and strawberry wontons, I still had a lot of leftover wonton wrappers that I didn't want to go to waste, so I decided to come up with a savory recipe to use them with. I had seen a couple of recipes for edamame filled wontons online, and when I consulted my Vegan Eats World cookbook for more ideas, I saw a recipe for edamame gyoza with dipping sauce that sounded perfect!

Gyoza are typically made with round dumpling wrappers (like these ones from The Fig Tree), so I used a slightly different method to adapt the recipe as wontons instead.  I also changed up the filling ingredients from the original recipe a bit and added some mushrooms for more bulk and flavour. I couldn't decide what kind of mushrooms to get when I was at the Asian mart, but I ended up going with fresh enoki mushrooms because of their delicate texture and slightly sweet flavour that I thought would pair well with the edamame (plus they looked so cute!).

The filling for the wontons is blended up in a food processor until you get a slightly chunky, thick mixture that will hold together well inside the wontons. It also has a vibrant green colour, as you can see here:

Making the filling is the easy part, and then comes the somewhat tedious process of forming the wontons and cooking them. I made the wontons following the same method as last time - place a dollop of filling in the center, then fold over one corner to make a triangle shape and seal tightly.

Instead of boiling or frying the filled wontons, I decided to steam them because it seemed like the safest option to avoid having them break apart while cooking. That method seemed to work really well - they held together (for the most part) and I liked how the texture of the wontons became soft but chewy like pasta.

I found that the wontons themselves had a lot of flavour from the mixture of bold ingredients inside - although the green chili was almost too overpowering for my tastes, so I would probably leave that out next time.

The best way to eat these though was dipping them into a sweet and sour sesame-soy-lime dipping sauce.  I thought the flavours of the dipping sauce really complemented the wontons and helped to balance out the spicier edamame filling.

These would be a great appetizer to serve as part of as Asian meal, or eat them as a light meal on their own. Feel free to make a double batch of the dipping sauce and use it with other small bites or appetizers too, like sushi, spring rolls, dumplings, or scallion pancakes. 

Hope you all enjoy the weekend!

Edamame Mushroom Wontons with Dipping Sauce
Adapted from Vegan Eats World

1 cup frozen shelled edamame

~200 g fresh enoki mushrooms

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

2 tsp minced fresh ginger

3 green onions, minced

1 small Thai green chili, minced (optional)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp mirin

1/2 tsp sesame oil

~30 wonton wrappers

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a dash of salt, then add the frozen edamame. Boil for about 5 minutes, then drain, reserving as much of the cooking water as you can. Rinse the edamame with cold water, then transfer to a food processor.

Wash the mushrooms well, and chop off the woody stems (I cut off almost half of the entire bunch). Chop the rest of the mushrooms and add to food processor (you should end up with about 1 ¼ cups chopped mushroom).

Add the remaining ingredients (except wonton wrappers) to the food processor and pulse or process briefly until all the ingredients are combined (it’s okay to leave it a bit chunky).  Transfer mixture to a bowl.

To make the wontons, lay out one wrapper and keep the rest of the wrappers covered with a damp cloth or paper towel.  Place 1 heaping teaspoon of the filling mixture in the center of the wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper with water using your fingers, then fold over one corner to make a triangle. Press the edges of the wrapper together firmly, pinching with your fingers to seal well. Set the filled wontons on a greased baking sheet and keep covered with a damp cloth or paper towels. Continue making the wontons until your filling is used up.

Put the reserved edamame cooking water in a large pot and add more water if necessary to get about 3 cups. Bring to a simmer and add a steamer basket. Steam the wontons by placing about 7 or 8 wontons (as many as can fit in the steamer without overlapping) in the basket and cover the pot with a lid (Note: I found it easier to spray my steamer basket first with cooking spray, otherwise the wontons got a bit stuck). Steam each batch for 3-4 minutes, until the wonton wrappers are cooked like al dente pasta. Carefully remove wontons and transfer to a plate.  Continue steaming in batches.

Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Makes about 30 wontons.

Dipping Sauce

3 tbsp tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)

4 tsp fresh lime juice

2 tsp mirin

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tbsp finely minced green onion

1 tsp finely minced fresh ginger

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to mix well.  Store in the refrigerator.

Warm Veggie Sausage & Potato Salad

One of the standard summertime meals that my mom would often make for us at least a few times every summer was her sausage and potato salad.  I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of gloopy potato salads that are coated in a thick mayonnaise-based dressing, and my mom's version was just the opposite - fresh and summery with green beans, diced potatoes and chopped sausages, tossed in a light mustard and vinegar dressing.

Since I became vegetarian, I've generally stayed away from "mock meat" products, including veggie dogs and veggie sausages.  Recently, however, my older sister (also a vegetarian) has been raving about the Field Roast brand of veggie sausages that come in an apple-sage flavour, so I was curious to try them out.

I can't get this particular brand anywhere locally, but on a recent trip across the border I was able to stop in at Whole Foods and spotted the sausages.  I was still a bit leery about buying them - not only were they a bit pricey, but I was also worried they would taste too much like meat and creep me out!  In the end, my sister convinced me they would be worth it, so I went ahead and got a package.

Rather than eating them on a bun, she recommended cutting the sausages up and eating them with roasted potatoes and salad.  That got me thinking back to my mom's sausage and potato salad, so I decided to make my own version!

For my potato salad, I steamed a few diced white potatoes, some green beans and mini mushrooms.  Along with the sauteed veggie sausages, I also added some diced tomatoes and fresh basil, and while everything was still warm, I tossed it in a delicious dressing made with whole grain mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic and shallots.  Finally, I laid the salad on top of a bed of spinach that I lightly coated in the dressing.

This was definitely not a boring potato salad! I loved the combination of tender potatoes and veggies with the juicy tomatoes and crumbled sausages. The sausages had an appealing sweet-and-savory flavour and a texture that was more nutty than meaty, so I wasn't too creeped out by them!

The tangy dressing was probably my favourite part of the salad.  I'm not usually a fan of dijon mustard, but I found the sharp flavour mellowed out when combined with the other ingredients, and I loved the whole grain texture.   Even though the recipe makes a bit of extra dressing, I still ended up using the whole amount because I liked it so much, and it helps to add the spinach to the salad to soak up some of the extra dressing.

This was a great summer dish that I think would be welcome at a picnic or potluck.  I would recommend serving it warm if possible, although I never actually tried it cold, so it might be just as good that way!  It's also easily adaptable for any type of diet - you can use veggie sausages or meat sausages, although I think meat eaters would still like the Field Roast brand!

Warm Veggie Sausage & Potato Salad
Inspired by my mom's potato salad, as well as recipes found here and here

1.5 lbs white potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

white wine for cooking (optional)

6 oz green beans

6 oz mini bella mushrooms

1.5 cups diced tomatoes (including seeds)

2 veggie sausages (I like Field Roast smoked apple sage flavour - use 3 sausages for a heavier portion)

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

4-5 cups spinach

Dressing

1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar

1.5 tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard

3 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 shallot, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a large pot. Place the diced potatoes in a steamer basket, insert steamer in the pot and cover. Steam potatoes over the boiling water for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. 

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by whisking all ingredients together in a small bowl.

When potatoes are done, remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with a bit of the dressing.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Cook the veggie sausages according to package directions (mine took about 5 minutes, turning often, until browned on all sides). Remove from heat and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Meanwhile, add a bit more water and a splash of white wine (if desired) to the pot that was used to steam the potatoes and return to a boil.  Place the beans and mushrooms in the steamer basket and steam, covered, for 4-5 minutes. Immediately plunge the beans and mushrooms into a bowl of cold ice water to stop them from cooking further.  Drain and add to the bowl with the potatoes.

Add the tomatoes and diced sausages to the bowl. Pour most of the dressing over top, leaving a bit behind to toss with the spinach.  Toss the salad to distribute the dressing.  Stir in the chopped basil and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Serve as is, or to serve over top of spinach: Take however many servings you would like of chopped spinach and toss with the remaining dressing.  Divide among plates and top each serving of spinach with a generous helping of the potato salad.  Serve warm.

Makes 3-4 main servings.