Miso soup is a staple meal in my house. It’s healthy fast food, super comforting, and so versatile. When I was studying Ayurveda at Kripalu, miso soup was offered every single day at all three meals…they clearly thought this was good food for a yogic mind and body.
This is a fall version with butternut squash and hearty greens. You might think of miso soup as kind of throwaway free item that comes with sushi, but for me it’s an exotic superfood and a blank canvas for creativity. It’s also a kind of hot salad, smarter in cold weather.
This dish delivers all 6 tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, and pungent. When you eat food with all 6 tastes, you reduce cravings because you are completely satisfied. This soup is good for all three doshas.
Turmeric acts as an anti-inflammatory, pain reliever, digestive aid, circulation booster, and skin brightener. It’s bitter, astringent, and pungent
Miso is awesome for the gut and delivers sour and salty taste
Seaweed is mineral rich and great for thyroid health, and has salty, bitter, and astringent tastes
Kale and cilantro are bitter and astringent, great for balancing pitta and cleansing the liver and blood
Root veggies like squash keep you feeling grounded this time of year and deliver a sweet taste
Sesame is heating and nourishing and a good vegan calcium source
Change the recipe with what you have on hand. You can use any greens, any seaweed, add browned shiitake mushrooms, top with a jammy egg, rice noodles, or serve with white rice.
I make this so often that I don’t follow a rigid recipe, but here is a guide:
Ingredients:
2 T ghee, divided
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
pink salt
1 tsp grated fresh turmeric, or 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 package extra firm tofu, drained, pressed between paper towels, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 garlic clove, smashed and minced
8 cups of water
2 T dulse, broken up with your hands (dulse is a salty sea veggie with loads of minerals; I buy organic Maine Coast Sea Vegetables online)
2 big handfuls of kale or chard, stems removed and chopped small
1/2 cup white or yellow miso paste
seaweed snacks, cut into strips with kitchen scissors, 1 package per person
gomasio (sesame seed seasoning with salt and seaweed flakes), or sesame seeds
fresh cilantro, chopped
scallions, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 375. Scoop 1 tablespoon ghee onto baking tray and pop in the preheating oven to melt, just a couple minutes. Take the tray out, add squash cubes, sprinkle with pink salt, and mix up with your hands to coat the squash with ghee. Roast for about 20 minutes or until soft and golden, then set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a medium pot and sauté turmeric, ginger, and tofu until tofu is a light golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute—don’t burn the garlic!
Add water, dulse, and kale and bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for about 5 minutes or until greens are tender but still vibrant. Add the squash and turn off heat.
Scoop miso paste into a wide mouth mason jar (I actually use a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup for this) and ladle a cup or so of the hot broth over it. Blend with a hand blender or whisk with a fork until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the soup pot and give a taste. If it tastes bland or under salted, add more miso paste using the same method of blending, 1 tablespoon at a time. Do not boil the miso as it kills the beneficial enzymes.
Serve with gomasio, cilantro, and scallions.