What's for Dinner: Monday

well, Monday of a few weeks ago anyway.

Chinese Orzo Pasta Salad and Fried Wontons

I like orzo a lot. It seems like I am not really eating pasta and you can soak up more flavor it seems with orzo unlike other pastas. This salad is a loose adaptation from one out of my Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites vegetarian cookbook. The Moosewood series are probably my favorite vegetarian cookbooks that I have found. The low-fat version is especially good because there are a lot of grain based salads and less dairy options. Here is the recipe:
1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo
2 Tbs sesame oil
2-3 cups finely chopped red cabbage
2 finely chopped carrots
2 cups finely chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped or sliced almonds
chopped baby spinach (optional)
dressing:
4 Tbs rice vinegar
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp Asian 5 spice powder (optional)
1-2 Tbs grated ginger root
2 large garlic cloves pressed (you may want to saute the garlic with the veggies to avoid the garlic "bite")
Please do not try to substitute any other vinegar for the rice. Rice vinegar is the most mild of any vinegar and tastes better too. I prefer it over any other. Plus, you can't get the right Asian flavor without it.

Cook the pasta to desired tenderness. Add the drained orzo to the dressing. In a large skillet combine all the veggies except the spinach and almonds with the sesame oil and saute until tender. Add the veggies to the pasta. Then stir in the spinach if using. Finally, top with the almonds.

Fried Wontons
I don't think there are many things you could put in a wonton that wouldn't taste good once you fried them. Brad is in love with my fried wontons but to be honest I don't make them that often as they are tedious to make. I usually make them ahead of time and then fry them up when it's time to eat.
1/3-1/2 package of wonton wrappers
1 package cream cheese
2 cups frozen spinach
2 Tbs worcestershire sauce
1/2-3/4 pound of seitan chopped finely (that's about two patties according to my seitan recipe)
Defrost and drain the spinach well. Combine all the ingredients for the filling. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of filling in each wonton wrapper and wrap it up pulling all the corners together and pinching to keep the filling from coming out while frying.

Do this over and over until all your filling is gone. This is the tedious part. yuck. Then you fry them in batches. In my fryer I set it about 375 degrees for about 4 minutes, until just golden brown. Set them to drain on a paper towel and serve with soy sauce for dipping.

Comments

  1. I still remember your won-tons from your baby blessing luncheon! THEY WERE SUPER SUPER SUPER YUMMY!!!!!

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