One Fab Appetizer - Edamame Dumplings

I've noticed that everything I'm making lately is green - Pesto, Asparagus Soup, and now...Edamame Dumplings. Must have something to do with the change in seasons and my desire to eat fresh, healthy food. Anyway, just an observation.

The other day, I was shopping at Whole Foods (what else is new) and decided to flip through the April issue of Cooking Light for inspiration. A recipe for Edamame Dumplings immediately caught my attention. Yum. Had to try these. All the ingredients looked amazing and it seemed like a potential hit for Cards Night that I could make ahead of time. So I quickly gathered the ingredients and got to work in the kitchen. Pretty easy to make. Just a little time consuming to assemble the dumplings but put on some good tunes and you'll get in a zone. The payoff is HUGE. These dumplings are a real treat. And the dipping sauce is a perfect complement. I highly recommend giving these a try. I tweaked the recipe just a tad by adding some fresh ginger to the filling. I think it gives it the extra kick it needs. In the future, I think it would be fun to try adding some sauteed ground pork or shrimp to the mix as well. You could try a lot of variations once you get the basic recipe down. I also doubled the Dipping Sauce recipe since the original recipe didn't yield enough sauce.


Edamame Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Dumplings:
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame (soybeans)
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp dark sesame oil (I just used regular sesame oil)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Approximately 24 wonton wrappers (I found them near the tofu)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- Cooking spray
- 1/2 cup water, divided

For the Dipping Sauce:
- 4 tbsp chopped scallions (aka green onions)
- 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp honey


How to:

For the Dumplings:
1. Cook the edamame according to package directions, drain.
2. Combine edamame, juice, sesame oil, cumin, ginger and salt in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. I had to add a little extra sesame oil because the mixture was a bit dry.
3. Working with 1 wanton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to prevent drying), spoon about 1 teaspoon of the filling in each wrapper. Moisten the edges of the dough with water, fold opposite corners of the dough to form a triangle, pinching the points together to seal.
4. Place dumplings on a large cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and sprinkle with cornstarch.

Cooking the Dumplings
You can either pan fry or steam the dumplings. Steaming is healthier but to be honest, pan frying is tastier - you get a nice browned crispy outside and soft, delicious inside. You can also freeze these and cook them on another day.

Pan Frying:
1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Let the pan heat up.
2. Arrange about 5 dumplings at a time in the pan, reduce heat to medium.
3. Cook the dumplings for about a minute or until the bottoms begin to brown then turn
4. Add 1/4 cup water to pan, cover.
5. Cook 30 seconds then uncover and cook for 1 minute or until water evaporates.
6. Repeat procedure with the remaining dumplings and water.
7. Serve immediately with sauce. Makes about 20 dumplings.

Steaming:
1. Steam dumplings for about 8 minute
2. Serve immediately with sauce.


For the Dipping Sauce:
- Combine the scallions, soy sauce and honey.
- Cover and refrigerate if you don't use right away.