Asian Pistou Dumplings in Lime Broth for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

This week's soup comes from one of my favorite sources for healthy recipes, Clean Eating Magazine and from a favorite celebrity chef crush, Ming Tsai. Yep, I loves me some Ming, and his recipe for Asian Pistou Dumplings in Lime Broth in the current issue sounded very appealing. Simple dumplings of edamame, mixed with a pistou or pesto of Thai basil and parsley, are cooked in a vegetable stock that is flavored with green onion, lime and tamari for a healthy but satisfying bowl of soup.

Asian Pistou Dumplings in Lime Broth

by Ming Tsai for Clean Eating Magazine Sept/Oct 2010

(Serves 4)

olive oil cooking spray

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, white & green parts separated, divided

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

juice 2 limes

1 Tbsp low-sodium tamari

1/2 cup packed parsley

1/2 cup packed Thai basil

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup edamame

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

12 thin whole-wheat wonton wrappers

In a saucepot misted with cooking spray, sweat white parts of scallions over medium heat for about 4 minutes, then add broth. Reduce mixture by 25%. Season with salt and pepper, and add lime juice and tamari.

Meanwhile, using a mortar and pestle, blend a pinch of salt with parsley, basil and garlic. Fold in edamame and oil and season with salt and pepper. (Alternatively, using a food processor, pulse together salt, parsley, basil and garlic. Transfer mixture to a bowl, fold in edamame and whisk in oil.)

Prepare wontons with edamame mixture. Lay wonton wrapper on work surface. With fingertips, use water to moisten outer edges of wrapper. Spoon about 1 tsp edamame filling onto center of each wonton wrapper. Gather up all edges of wrapper above filling and pinch together.

Ideally, there should be a bunch of pictures of the

"making of the wontons" but I got lazy and forgot to take more! ;-)

Add dumplings to broth and boil for 5 to 8 minutes; serve immediately. Garnish with green parts of scallions and, if desired, additional parsley and/or basil.

Nutrients Per Serving: Calories: 200, Total Fat: 8g, Sat. Fat: 1g, Carbs: 24g, Fiber: 3g, Sugars: 2g, Protein: 6g, Sodium: 544 mg, Cholesterol: 2mg

Notes/Results: Very good--with lots of flavor both in the dumplings and in the broth. The dumplings go together quickly and easily, although I couldn't find a whole wheat wrapper and ended using smaller thin wrappers that held about 1/2 tsp of the filling, so I ended up with about 24 small dumplings. Not a problem--I think the smaller dumplings work just as well, if not better. (I think I need to make dumpling soups more often--I love little dumplings.) The broth is very tart from the lime, but it works well with the pistou and keeps the soup light and refreshing. It also passed the "visiting mom test"--she enjoyed it and was impressed with my dumplings. ;-) I would make this soup again.

Let's take a look at who is here in the Souper Sunday kitchen this week.

Debbie from The Friday Friends is back and helping girlichef on her Tortilla Soup quest with this delicious-looking bowl. Debbie says, "I think I've found the best tortilla soup EVER. And the Handyman thinks it is the best EVER. He even said the words "this is REALLY good soup." He said it more than once! That's a pretty good compliment since he usually rolls his eyes and sighs when I say "I'm making soup. Seriously tho, this soup was really, really, really good. I could have eaten it for 3 more days... mmmm,mmmm good. (and it wasn't even Campbells')."

So nice to see Serena from Seriously Soupy here again this week and with a Vegetable Wonton Soup recipe. She says, "Everything about trying this recipe was out of my comfort zone. I have had this type of soup 100s of times but I never thought to make it myself, most likely, because I figured the wonton itself would be too challenging. But since this blog is about soups, I really want to try everything and decided to delve head first into attempting my first wonton soup."

Please join me in welcoming Joanna from Go Ahead and Snicker, a friend from I Heart Cooking Clubs who is joining us at Souper Sundays for the first time. Joanna used a JUMBO can of tomato sauce for her Turkey Vegetable Chili and says, "And why would anyone want to buy a 102 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, anyway? Because. I use it in everything, and it freezes well. I used almost half of this can for chili and the rest went into ziploc bags. I stacked them flat in the freezer, labeled of course, and now I can pull out a bag to defrost anytime I am making a sauce or soup. I think I need to go buy more cans."

Kim from Liv Life made Ellie Krieger's Roasted Tomato and Black Bean Soup with a bounty of farmers market tomatoes and says, "Topping the soup with a sprinkle of cilantro, a scoop of creamy sour cream and a spoonful of luscious diced avocado provides a meal in a bowl that is just as good, if not better, the next day! Perfect for freezing, I try to make extra to have on hand for those "I don't feel like cooking" days."

Amritha from AK's Vegetarian Recipe World brought her Tomato Basil Clear Soup and says, "All time favorite - Tomato soup. There are various methods to make this soup. I got this recipe from my aunt. It came out very well. Very simple and easy. My aunt made this soup just as thick tomato soup. I just twisted it little bit, added more ingredients to it and made it clear soup. The reason I made it clear soup is for easy digestion and its light. The taste of tomato along with a hint of basil mixed with some spice makes it a great treat."

Here with her first soup for Fall 2010, a Sausage & Kale Lentil Soup, is Debby of A Feast for the Eyes. Debby says, "Today, the skies were gloomy and I had a craving for soup. I was also craving fresh bread to go with the soup. I love lentil soup, and I especially love it when it's paired with sausage. I decided to make our favorite Buttered Rosemary Rolls because they are easy to make and don't take a lot of time. At the last minute, I decided to use Parmesan Cheese, instead. By garnishing the lentil soup with a little Parmesan, my family had a hearty and comforting meal that was perfect for Fall weather."

Denise (aka Denny) from Oh Taste N See made a Chipotle Corn Tomato Soup and says, "I put together this soup in a very short time for a healthy lunch yesterday. Its as simple as throwing ingredients onto a pot and then blitzing them. But it made for a very filling and healthy lunch. The Chipotle chilies in this soup, render a spicy, smoky flavor and give it a sort of Tex-Mex feel. Now Chipotles are ripe Jalapenos, which are smoked when they turn red. They are available dried and ground into powder as chipotle chile powder, or preserved as is in a tomato vinegar sauce called adobo sauce."

We are also welcoming José from The Elitist Taco, blogging from Indiana, about traditional Mexican food, vegetarian style. For his first Souper Sunday entry, José has a bowl of Vegetarian Posole and says, "I love posole. The thick rich spicy soup broth, the hominy (nixtamal in Spanish, or technically Nahuatl), and of course the additions. Cilantro, shredded cabbage, radish, avocado, lime juice, baked tortilla strips, and on and on. The beautiful thing about the stock is the introduction of ancho chiles (dried poblanos) that are reconstituted and pureed in the blender. It makes for a complex and spicy broth."

Another new face to welcome is Stash from the Spamwise Chronicles making his first appearance at Souper Sundays and joining us from NYC. Stash made a Heirloom Tomato Salad, with Garlic Croutons and says, "September in New York is my favorite time of the year, food-wise, because of all the wonderful produce that’s available at the market. Ripe tomatoes, fragrant peppers, luscious eggplant and flavorful peaches … these are the stuff that dreams are made of. It’s a season that’s all too brief. Heirloom tomatoes are at the peak of flavor, so enjoy them while they last. With autumn knocking on the threshold, it’ll be October before you know it.This salad is all about the tomatoes. They’re the stars of this show."

Janet from The Taste Space has a colorful Moroccan Roasted Pepper, Tomato & Apple Salad (Slada Felfa Bil Tamatem Wal Tofah), and says, "You win some, you lose some. While I have had a few successes with recipes from Arabesque by Claudia Roden, I didn’t feel this lived up to my expectations. I love everything in the salad: sweet apples, roasted red peppers and tomatoes with a dash of Aleppo chili flakes. But together they just didn’t work. Don’t be fooled by the word salad. This is more of a spread or dip, but my apple slices were big enough that I had to eat it with a spoon, rather then spoon it onto pita bread instead. I mean it wasn’t awful, it just wasn’t great. It was better when served chilled, rather than warm or at room temperature."

Megha from Live to eat!!! brought a healthy Sprouted Mung & Pomegranate Salad that is full of color and texture to share this week and says,"Sprouting of mung can be a little bit of extra preparation for this crunchy salad. Pomegranate adds a little sweetness to the salad. Its great flavor and health benefits have made it a great candidate for those who seek natural health foods."

Another newbie joining us at Souper Sundays is Tanvi from Sinfully Spicy, blogging from Las Vegas, Nevada. Tanvi made a Grilled Corn Salad with Cilantro-Tamarind Dressing and says, "This corn salad is inspired by one of my Punjabi friend’s mother’s recipe !! She used to make this amazing boiled bhutta at home dunked in tamarind water….very juicy and absolutely yummy! So, basically I mixed both the tastes together, that of the blackened corn and the tamarind. If you are not a cilantro lover, use parsely.If you don’t like tamarind, use lemon juice …and if you don’t like all the four…please skip this recipe and come back again for the next one!" Welcome Tanvi!

What a great turnout this week! Lots of yummy soup and salad recipes to drool over. Thanks to all who joined in and a special thanks to all of our new participants. If you have a soup, salad or sandwich that you would like to share, click on the Souper Sundays logo on the side bar for all of the details.

BTW: The answer to yesterdays "Can You Guess the Herb" post in is the comments section of that post, in case you are still wondering. ;-)

Have a wonderful week!