Mealtime Magic: Roasted Vegetable Soup and Wontons in Garlic Sauce from More Real Life Kosher Cooking

Recipe(s) and photo(s) reprinted with permission from
More Real Life Kosher Cooking by Miriam Pascal
Mesorah Publications/November 2019
Photos by Miriam Pascal

Wontons in Garlic Sauce
This recipe began with my obsession with wontons and garlic sauce from a particular Chinese restaurant that’s nowhere near my home. Naturally, I had to recreate it myself. Since then, these wontons have become the stuff of Pascal family legend. It’s my family’s all-time favorite Yom Tov appetizer. The only downside? It’s pretty much guaranteed to upstage basically any other dish you serve at the same meal!
Meat      Yield 10-12 servings

WONTONS1½ pounds ground beef
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon
toasted sesame oil
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, preferably a mix of
black and white
4 scallions, sliced 4 cloves garlic, minced 50 wonton wrappers, approximately

GARLIC SAUCE
1 (18-ounce) jar
hoisin sauce cup soy sauce cup rice vinegar
cup honey
2 teaspoons sriracha
1 teaspoon ground mustard
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ cup water
12 cloves garlic, minced
sliced scallions, optional, for garnish
additional sesame seeds, optional, for garnish

1    Prepare the wontons: Combine beef, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, scallions, and garlic in a large bowl; stir gently until just combined.

2    Place about 2 teaspoons meat mixture onto the center of a wonton wrapper. Brush a small amount of water along the edges before pressing them together to help keep them sealed; bring the edges together to form a wonton. Set aside; repeat with remaining meat and wonton wrappers.

3    Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop a few wontons into the boiling water; cook for about 6 minutes, until the meat is cooked through. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot. Remove wontons with a slotted spoon; place on parchment paper, not touching each other. Set wontons aside.

4    Meanwhile, prepare the garlic sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat; simmer mixture for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.

5    Just before serving, toss cooked wontons in sauce; warm through. If desired, garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

Plan Ahead: Wontons can be frozen, without sauce, either before cooking (boil just before serving; if boiling frozen, add 1 minute to cooking time) or after cooking. Sauce can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge. Combine wontons and reheated sauce just before serving.

Roasted Vegetable Soup
What started out as a fridge full of produce that had to be used up has morphed into one of my all-time favorite soups. Roasting the vegetables brings out their flavors, resulting in a healthy soup that’s packed with flavor and so filling! Feel free to customize your soup based on whichever veggies you happen to have on hand.
Pareve     Yield 6-8 servings

ROASTED VEGETABLES 
2 large zucchini, diced
3 medium yellow squash, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 onions, diced
1 pound frozen cauliflower florets, defrosted
¼ cup oil
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

SOUP
4 cups vegetable broth
about 6 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon kosher salt 

1. Prepare the roasted vegetables: Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Place vegetables, oil, salt, and pepper into a bowl. Toss to combine. Divide between prepared baking sheets. Roast for 50-60 minutes, until vegetables are starting to brown.
3. Prepare the soup: Place roasted vegetables, along with any juices, into a large soup pot. Add soup ingredients; bring to a boil.

4. Simmer for about 1 hour. Discard bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, blend soup well, for about 3 minutes, until fully smooth. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Plan Ahead: This soup can be prepared ahead and frozen in an airtight container.
 

Most of us love to cook simple but delicious meals.  Social media personality and chef, Miriam Pascal knows this well.   Hundreds of thousands of her fans regularly enjoy her creative, tasty, and just-plain-fun recipes, which she shares on her popular blog and in her bestselling cookbooks.  

In 2017 Miriam’s best-selling cookbook Real Life Kosher Cooking, sold out its first printing in only 10 days. As a result, Miriam has released her much anticipated follow up cookbook, MORE REAL LIFE KOSHER COOKING, just in time for Hanukkah.  Miriam shows home cooks how to create memorable dishes with approachable recipes, using simple, common sense preparation. Just great ideas, fantastic results - and lots and lots of love.

MORE REAL LIFE KOSHER COOKING contains over 150 doable recipes complete with beautiful photographs.  Each recipe is made with accessible, easy-to-find ingredients and instructions, and have "Plan Ahead"” and/or freezer tips.  Miriam also includes a Pesach Guide in order to adjust your favorite recipes for use during Passover.

Recipes range from Breakfast and Breads, Appetizers and Snacks, Salads and Spreads, to Soups and Stews, Meat and Poultry, Dairy and Meatless Mains, Desserts and Drinks, Sauces and Staples, and Baked Goods and Pastries. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Miriam Pascal is the founder of OvertimeCook.com, one of the world’s leading destinations for kosher recipes, with hundreds of thousands of monthly visitors. A self-taught cook and baker, Miriam shares her passion for recipes, food, and photography on her website, as well as in her popular food column in Mishpacha Magazine’s Family Table. Her first book, the dessert cookbook Something Sweet, enhanced her reputation as the go-to source for easy-to-prepare, delicious kosher recipes. Her second cookbook, Real Life Kosher Cooking has become a kitchen staple. Miriam has garnered a large and loyal following of home cooks who appreciate her expertise and experience in creating simple, family-friendly recipes that fit the lifestyles of busy people who want to serve nutritious and delicious meals. Miriam’s work has been featured by numerous national magazines and other media.