Recipe

Golden Miso Soup

Accompanying article: Miso — A Delicious and Healing Food

Serves 4

Adding coconut milk to an otherwise classic squash and miso soup recipe intensifies its rich, sweet flavor and makes it even creamier. When using a yellow or red colored and tender-skinned squash, like butternut or red kuri, you may leave its skin intact. (Trim and discard, however, any tough or warty pieces.) It will soften, blend right into the soup and yield more flavor and nutrients. If fully pureed, a green-skinned squash detracts from the soup’s beautiful golden color.

1 tablespoon sesame or coconut oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups cubed butternut squash
1 large onion, diced
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons sweet light miso
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted

Warm the oil in a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, ginger and turmeric and sauté for 1 minute. Add the squash and onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until the vegetables soften. Add the coconut milk, 2½ cups water and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Remove the cinnamon stick.

Place the miso and 1/4 cup of soup broth in a small bowl and puree with a fork. Add the puree to the soup and simmer for 1 minute, taking care to not let the soup boil. Season with pepper. Adjust seasonings and remove from the heat.

Lightly puree the soup using a potato masher. Or fully puree the soup in a blender or food processor, taking care to not burn yourself. Divide the soup between four bowls and garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut, place the remainder of the coconut on the table to pass around.

May you be well nourished,

Rebecca Wood