A Spring Soul-Soup Recipe

I came up with the recipe on Easter this year. Due to circumstances of schedule and unforeseen things, I neither had time to shop for nor to cook the traditional and expected holiday foods. But I haven’t even wanted those foods for at least 20 years – at least not while celebrating Spring, which is what I do around this time. We have a blended origin-story kind of family. And it seems to usually be difficult for me to work-in the time to celebrate with a dinner, just Spring and renewal. I see a Spring dinner celebration as colorful and light. But it’s even more than that. When celebrating renewal, I’d like to have food that is both nourishing and energizing – food that signifies the excitement and optimism of beginnings rather than the end. I mean, in Winter, hot mashed potatoes and gravy are my jam! But if I’m having a soul ceremony of seasonal food with Spring, it goes a little more like the recipe below. While I’m a bit sad that we didn’t get to see a couple of people this Easter because of schedule stuff and a mild illness too, I really am glad that “all I could whip up” was this!

Go easy on me. I’m not used to writing out recipes for public use.

This loosely-accurate-recipe is for a light miso with chicken broth, carrot-themed soup, which is a great edible bouquet for Spring. Texture is a big part of this soup, especially if you will be eating it same-day. With a flavor similar to won ton soup, the main flavor contributors are from leeks and green onion, miso, ginger, soy sauce, and then a bit of carrot. I add marinated tofu, which contributes to the overall flavor. If tofu is a no-go for you, I gotcha covered with alternate instructions.

Serving is for 6 small bowls or 3 medium bowls. I like serving small, shallow bowls along with a peppery, smooshed avocado and veggie sandwich.

You will need:

3 carrots: 1 purple, 1 orange, and 1 white/yellow (Use just the medium-width part of each carrot. Slice into thin, diagonal pieces for garnish later. You’ll be standing these slivers on top of your served soup. So, slice 3 for 3 bowls or 6 for 6 bowls. Don’t overthink what it should look like. It’s your soup. You just want a thin crunch and burst of color and not hearty forest-stew pieces.)

– 18 very thin and skinny slices of orange carrot (You want the noodle effect here, but keep them 3-4 inches long.)

– 1 handful thinly shredded red cabbage

– 1.5 handfuls bulky-shredded escarole

– 1/4 c thinly sliced leek (Use equal white as well as green parts.)

– 1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped

– 2 Tb fresh Italian parsley (Don’t chop up the leaves.)

– 1 grated nub of ginger about the size of a finger tip, with skin on (Yes, you can eat ginger skin.)

– 32 oz low sodium chicken broth (Make sure it’s low sodium or you might be sorry when you add the marinated tofu. If you’d rather go with a vegetable broth, make it a light (non-tomato) and low-sodium broth. But note that the overall flavor will be very different than intended.)

– 1/2 tsp olive oil (or avocado oil)

– 1/2 block of firm (not extra firm) tofu, drained (Take the block out of the package. Turn the block on its long side. Slice down the center to form 2 thinner blocks. Place one block on paper towels, cover it with more paper towels, and press down lightly with a plate to remove excess water. Repeat with fresh towels. Set aside. Put the other block back into water, and store in fridge for another day.)

– 1/4 c soy sauce (or 1/4 tsp if you will not be using tofu)

– 1/8 tsp ginger powder (or a pinch <1/16> if not using tofu)

– 1.5 Tb white miso

– pinch of salt

– dash of black pepper

– wax paper or parchment paper for use in the freezer

– Dutch oven, or large pot

– small bowl and whisk, for blending miso (Put the miso in the bowl before starting.)

Steps:

1 Freeze-marinate the Tofu: Combine soy sauce and ginger powder in a shallow bowl and stir. Dip all sides of the prepared tofu into the mixture. Discard remaining liquid. Wrap tofu in parchment paper or wax paper and place it flat, in the freezer. Let it be for at least 1.5 hours. (You can do this the night before if you prefer.)

2 Gather: Separate all your ingredients into 3 areas: 1 tofu, miso and small bowl; 2 the carrot slivers garnish; 3 the rest.

3 Sauté: Turn Dutch oven to medium low. Add oil, red cabbage, escarole, leeks, grated ginger, salt and black pepper. Sauté several minutes until tender, stirring once or twice. Add orange carrot “noodles,” and stir.

4 Broth Time: Add chicken broth, green onions and parsley to the pot. Bring to the boil to blend flavors, then reduce to low immediately. (Do not get to a rolling boil.)

If not using tofu, add your small portions of soy sauce and ginger powder to the broth now and stir.

5 The Miso Part: Ladle about 1 cup of the broth and whisk it with the miso in the small bowl. Add more broth if needed. (You need to completely dissolve the miso paste before adding it to the pot.) Once dissolved, pour the miso broth into the pot and stir. DO NOT BOIL the soup again – not even when reheating.

6 Tofu Brings it Home: Cut the previously freeze-marinated tofu into about 30 small squares. Using a ladle, gently lower the pieces into the simmering broth and allow them to warm and to blend with the broth.

7a Serve Now: Ladle your servings and garnish with the multi-colored carrot slivers. Perhaps serve alongside a yummy veggie or mostly veggie sandwich.

7b Serve Later: You can do anything but boil your soup now. You can put it in the fridge, or you can even freeze it in individual serving containers and reheat it with the garnish already in it.

Let me know if you try it or alter it a bit to make it your own! I hope you enjoy. ❤

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