Deep Winter Miso Soup
In honor of winter and the deep nourishment this season has to offer, I wanted to share with you all a favorite recipe I've been making that's also super appropriate for the winter in terms of food as medicine and seasonal energetics.
If this topic is intriguing to you, you can take a listen to my interview from last winter on The Herbal Womb Wisdom podcast all about the energetics of winter and learn why miso, and the salty taste in particular, is so good for you in the winter.
You can listen while you make your soup!
Deep Winter Miso Soup
Ingredients:
Making the broth base for the soup with Burdock Rt, Kombu Seaweed, and Shiitake mushroom stems
Broth Base:
10 cups water
1 c fresh burdock root/gobo (Arcticum lappa), chopped OR 1/4 c dried roots
Handful shiitake mushroom stems (reserve the caps for the soup), whole
3 eight-inch strips kombu seaweed (can also use kelp or wakame seaweed)
Soup Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced in crescents
2 c shiitake mushroom caps, sliced in crescents
2 c burdock root/gobo, chopped
2 c carrot, chopped
3/4 c daikon radish, chopped
2 1/2 c kale, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh ginger, sliced
10 tbsp miso paste
Instructions:
1. Combine the water and broth base ingredients in a pan. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 min.
2. Remove the seaweed and mushroom stems. Keep the burdock in the broth if you used fresh burdock. If you used dried burdock you may choose to strain it from the broth or keep it in. You may also choose to snip one or two strips of kombu into small pieces and add it back to the soup, which is my preference
3. Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the miso paste!) to the broth base. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes
4. Once the soup is done, remove a few cups of the broth and put into a bowl or mason jar. Add the miso paste and whisk until smooth. Then add this to the soup, being sure not to bring it to a boil after you've added the miso
A bit more about the ingredients in this soup
Deep Winter Miso
Fresh Burdock (Arcticum lappa)- Available fresh at most health food stores and co-ops and is often sold as Gobo in Asian groceries. If you aren't able to find it you can add more carrot, mushrooms, and daikon instead. Burdock cleans and builds the blood, drains lymph, and nourishes and supports the skin, hair, kidneys, liver, and adrenals. The root contains the prebiotic inulin, which acts as a food for benedicial gut flora in the digestive system, supporting gut health. It's considered sweet, salty, and bitter in energetics and is slightly moistening.
Kombu seaweed (Laminaria digitata)- In the brown seaweed family and very closely related to Kelp (Laminaria longicruris) and Wakame (Alaria esculenta), both of which can be used in its place in this recipe. Very mineral rich, healing to the gut, and they also add the umami flavor to the broth, a taste which enhances savory depth of flavor of the soup.
Seaweed is available at many co-ops and health food stores and one of my favorite sources for seaweed is Ironbound Island Seaweed in Maine, which sells it by the pound. Heritage Seaweed in Portland, ME sells smaller retail-sized bags of their seaweeds here.
Miso- A traditional Japanese probiotic paste made of fermented soy beans along with the occasional addition of other ingredients, depending on the flavor. Miso is a salty and delicious umami flavor bomb that adds a rich depth of flavor but care must be taken to avoid boiling it, as this will destroy its probiotic benefits. Available in most co-ops, health food stores, and Asian grocery stores. And South River Miso, right here in western Massachusetts, makes some of the best miso in the country, which you can order here.
Enjoy all!
