Homemade Spinach and Mushroom Wonton Soup

An Italian Twist on Classic Wonton Soup

I guess I got a little crazy here, combining a Chinese favorite with some classic Italian twists but what I was left with was a fantastic Spinach and Mushroom Wonton Soup.  It was delicious, combining all of the familiar elements of a wonton soup; simple chicken broth with giant floppy stuffed noodles.  To twist things up a bit, I made a fresh wilted spinach, baby portabello mushroom and ricotta filling and then topped the whole things off with shreds of fresh snipped basil, just a remind that this is no ordinary soup.

This is one of those dishes that looks really complicated and packs a high amount of wow to it.  This is great to make on a chilly Sunday afternoon or this would make a fantastic starter to a meal.  This could also be served on its own as a healthy little dinner.  The hardest part of all was having the patience to fold all these little guys up but it really didn't take long once you get started.  Once they are all folded up, they can be frozen, just lay them individually onto a cookie sheet, freeze them and then you can transfer them to plastic bag.  This will keep them frozen and separated so when the craving strikes, you can just boil up some broth and toss a handful of these into the boiling chicken stock.  Or, you can even enjoy them with some tomato sauce drizzled over or simply fried up in some garlic butter.  Sky's the limit with these guys.  So let's get started with how to make them, shall we?


To start, here's what you'll need:

- 1 package wonton wrappers (sold in the produce aisle of most grocery stores)
- A couple giant handfuls of fresh spinach
- 1 carton of baby portabello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
- Fresh ground nutmeg
- About a cup of part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- A handful of fresh basil, rinsed and thinly shredded (plus more for garnish)
- About a tsp of dried rosemary
- A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small pat of butter (to fry the mushrooms)
- 2 eggs (one for the filling and one for the egg wash)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large box low-sodium chicken broth

Start by frying the mushrooms in a pat of butter in a heavy pan on medium heat until they are cooked through and start to brown.  Remove from heat.  In separate pan, add the spinach and wilt it down on medium heat until the spinach is just cooked through and has reduced significantly in size.  Let the spinach cool and remove it from the heat, chopping it finely.  Add some of the basil and then stir in the mushrooms.  Add the ricotta, salt and pepper, rosemary, nutmeg and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  Mix throughly.  Taste, and then season to your liking.  Once you are satisfied with the seasoning, add in one of the eggs and combine everything thoroughly.  If the filling is too watery, you can soak some of it up by using a paper towel.
  

Fresh sauteed spinach and mushrooms

Mixed in with ricotta and eggs

Before you wrap the wontons, crack an egg into a small bowl and mix thoroughly.  Add a splash of water and set aside.  To make the wontons, place a small dollop of filling into the center of the wonton wrapper.  

Spinach/mushroom/ricotta mixture ready to be wrapped in wonton 

Using a pastry brush, gently brush all sides of the wrapper with the egg wash.  Fold one half of the wrapper up, so that you have a triangle.

How to fold a wonton

Using your finger, fold both of the edges down to create something that looks like this:

Nest, fold one of the sides over, followed by the other side so that you are left with something that looks like this:

Homemade wontons ready to go!

Next, boil some generously salted water and place the wontons in, one at a time being careful not to cook too many at a time (they'll stick together).  Once the wontons float, let them cook about a minute longer and then place them into some hot broth.  Serve immediately and enjoy.

Homemade Spinach and Mushroom Wonton Soup