Vegetable soba noodle soup with miso bone broth

This is a clean-flavoured dish that’s reminiscent of a lot of simple Japanese cuisine – this kind of dish balances out the more unctuous dishes that I love. It’s like an Asian version of my Spring Clean Vegetable Brown Rice Soup (see here), made using buckwheat soba noodles and miso and ginger for flavour.

In the summer, add some skinned and deseeded tomatoes to this and maybe some fresh oregano for an Italian–Japanese fusion. You could even add some cooked cannellini beans for a Japanese minestrone! In the winter, swap in some diced root vegetables. Add your choice of miso to taste, stirring it at the end so as not to cook away the probiotics if you bought the unpasteurised stuff. Throw in an egg or some poached chicken, or use bone broth as the base for a more hearty meal. Try making a dashi stock for this too (see here).

This makes a good soup for cleanse and reset (see here) and works well in your insulated flask for work if you slightly undercook the noodles before bottling it up.

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Serves 3–4

3 tbsp ghee

½ medium leek, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

5cm (2in) piece of fresh ginger, grated

1 medium carrot, diced

1 stick of celery, diced

100g of soba (buckwheat) noodles, snapped in half

1 litre (4 cups) bone broth (see here), water or dashi stock (see here)

1 medium courgette, diced

1 bunch spring onions, sliced, plus extra for serving

1 tbsp brown rice miso, plus extra depending on miso strength

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

TO SERVE (OPTIONAL)

1 tsp unrefined toasted sesame oil

juice of ½ lemon or lime

1 tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos or tamari, depending on miso strength

handful of watercress

1 Melt the ghee in a pan over a low-medium heat, then sweat the leek, garlic and ginger. Add the carrot and celery and sweat for another minute or so.

2 Add the noodles and bone broth and simmer for 10–12 minutes. Add the courgette and spring onions, then remove from the heat and stir in the miso and black pepper. Taste and season, then serve with the extras, if desired.