Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
- 200-400g button mushrooms
- 8 cloves garlic
- Big knob ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 leek, finely sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 small swede, peeled and finely diced
- 4 tbsp miso paste
- Small handful of seaweed, soaked in cold water, drained and roughly chopped, if necessary
- Salt and pepper
- 2.5 litres water
This makes a really large batch (8-10 portions) that will keep you going all week. In summer, I leave out the root vegetables, but coming into winter, it feels a lot more satisfying to get a bite of turnip or carrot, rather than tofu. Use whatever seaweed with instructions on the back that says it’s suitable for soups: kelp, dillisk or carrageen are good.
Heat up the oil in a very large saucepan and cook the mushrooms over a high heat to get some colour on them. They may go soggy at first, but keep the heat up and make them start to get a little colour. Then add the garlic and ginger, along with the leeks, carrots and swedes. Then add the miso paste and maybe a little water and mix really well so the miso gets well distributed. Add the seaweed and season, before adding the water.
Bring up to a gentle simmer and cook gently for about 10-15 minutes. If the vegetables are small enough, they will cook quite quickly. Taste and adjust the seasoning again. Serve with some sesame seeds on top and enjoy bowls of this all week.
dkemp@irishtimes.com
Food cooked and styled by
Domini Kemp and Gillian Fallon
