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Miso soup with lentils and tofu garnished with slivered almonds and scallions

A simple, warm and nourishing soup with a little extra spice good for the cold of winter or the heat of summer.

Ingredients

4 cups water, divided
1/2 cup dry French lentils
1 sprig kombu (about 1″)
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2t coarse sea salt
200g tofu, cubed (1/2″)
1T fresh garlic, minced
4 scallions, minced (4″ green reserved for garnish)
1T tamari
1/2t toasted sesame oil
2T white miso
Sea salt to taste
2T slivered almonds
2T nutritional yeast
Black, white or cayenne pepper, red Thai chili paste, or similar to taste

Instructions

In a large sauce pan with a lid, bring 2 cups water to a boil.
Add the lentils and kombu, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Drain and rinse the lentils and kombu.
Bring the remaining 2 cups water and the stock to a boil.
Return the lentils and kombu to the pan.
Add the sea salt, tofu, garlic, scallions, tamari and sesame oil.
Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer another 15 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
Remove from heat, add the white miso and nutritional yeast.
Stir until the miso is dissolved, and let stand 5 minutes to cool.
Season with salt to taste.
Ladle out the soup and garnish with 1T almonds, scallion greens sliced on a 45 degree angle and the nutritional yeast.
Spice the soup up with black, white or cayenne pepper, Thai chili, or similar.

Miso soup with tofu, shiitake mushrooms and kale

Simple and nourishing, this makes 4 small bowls or 2 large ones.

Ingredients

1T water
2 scallions, minced about 4″ green reserved for garnish
1 cup shiitake mushroom caps, stemmed and sliced 1/4″
250g tofu, 1/4″ cubes
1T tamari
1T lemon juice
4 cups water
1 ‘spring’ dried kombu, about 1″
2-3T red miso (use low sodium if you can find it)
1 cup green kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped
Coarse sea salt to taste
1/2 cup purple carrots, matchsticked

Optional: 1/2t toasted sesame oil add some additional flavour to this dish, and a teaspoon of white sesame seeds will add colour, flavour and nutrition. I often add nori flakes to mine as a garnish as well. White and yellow miso often have a milder flavor than red. Regular orange carrots are also fine for this dish and add a lovely colour contrast.

Method

Bring a medium pan to heat on medium high heat. Add the scallions and water and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the shiitake and tofu stir fry for 2 minutes.
Add the tamari and lemon and deglaze the pan. Stir fry for another 2 minutes or until most of the moisture has been absorbed, the tofu is lightly browning, and the pan is starting to dry again.

Add water and kombu. Bring to a gentle simmer and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat, remove the kombu, add the miso and stir to combine. If you’re new to miso, add 2T to start and add more to taste. Add the kale and stir to combine.

Let stand a minute to wilt the kale lightly. Season to taste. Ladle out. Garnish with scallion greens sliced on an angle and the matchsticked carrots, and serve.

Note, miso ‘tea’ also makes a light, simple snack or breakfast. Bring a cup or so of water to a boil, pour over a 2-3 teaspoons of miso in a mug, and stir until dissolved.