Cookbook #46 Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen

I'm not going to lie to you, I have a bit of a crush on Tyler Florence. Sure, he's not one of the more exciting personalities on Food Network; he's really a more "cut to the chase" kind of guy. But the boy can cook. When he starts explaining cooking techniques, and his passion for food comes through, I'm just a sucker staring at a TV. That's not even mentioning that homeslice has an entire kitchen set filled with the most fabulous copper pans...sigh. I love a man who lives dangerously, and leaves the nonstick to the amateurs.

Tyler's first cookbook is a favorite of mine. Filled with such tried and trues as Roasted Carrots with Orange Brown Butter and Sage, Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze, and Roasted Chicken with Morrocan Spices as well as recipes marked to try such as Hong Kong Crab Cales with Baby Bok Choy, and Spicy Tuna Hand Roll, it comes off the shelf quite often.

I've been wanting to make Tyler's Dumpling Soup with Chinese Greens for quite awhile but was just put off at the thought of making so many wontons. Pushing all hesitation aside, I followed the recipe almost exactly, minus a substitution of ground turkey for the pork. And while turnips sounds a bit interesting for a filling, when everything is pulsed together, the turnips just seem to blend in perfectly. I was actually a bit surprised to see that this filling tasted like the Costco frozen potstickers. With a the garlic and ginger flavor infused into the broth and the fabulousness that is bok choy, I was definitely glad I finally got around to giving this recipe a try.

Dumpling Soup with Chinese Greens

Adapted from Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen

Filling

3/4 pound ground turkey (or pork)

1/2 med turnip

1 green onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1 egg white

2 tsp cornstarch

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tsp sherry

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Broth

3 qts Chicken Stock

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 inch piece of ginger, cut in half

4 garlic cloves, smashed

Soup

wonton wrappers

1 egg white

1/4-1/2 lbs bok choy

1/4 lb shiitake mushrooms

Pulse the filling ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.

In a large pot, simmer all broth ingredients together for 10 mins. Turn to low & cover.

Lay wonton wrappers on the counter. Brush with egg white & drop 2 tsp of turkey filling in the center. Fold in half to form a triangle. Press the sides together to get rid of air bubbles, then seal tightly. Once all wrappers are made, strain the broth to remove the pieces of garlic and ginger. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium high heat. Add dumplings and boil for 12 minutes. Add the bok choy & mushrooms, continue to simmer for 3 minutes.