FOREST MISO SOUP

images SERVES 4

The last time I felt a cold coming on, I made this soup. The key with miso is to just warm it up, but not boil it. Boiling kills the healthy probiotics that are so good for your immune system. This time around, I wanted a little more body in the soup, so I added cauliflower florets and pureed the whole thing to give it a silky texture. It still comes out pretty brothy, just a little more silky. With some earthy shimeji mushrooms in there, I almost felt like I was “forest bathing,” that ancient Japanese practice of taking a healing walk in the woods. —DEREK

6 cups water

½ cup white miso

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 clove garlic, minced

1½ teaspoons sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups shimeji mushrooms (see Pro Tip), cleaned and trimmed

1 teaspoon sesame oil or hot chile sesame oil

¼ cup sliced green onions

image Heat the water in a medium saucepot over medium heat just until it’s warm but not anywhere near simmering. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the miso, cauliflower, and garlic. Let steep in the warm water over low heat, without boiling or simmering, until the cauliflower is tender, about 30 minutes.

image Use an immersion blender or stand blender to puree the soup until smooth (if using a stand blender, remove the center lid to allow steam to escape and cover the small hole with a folded paper towel). Season with 1¼ teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

image Meanwhile, put a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and get it hot. Add the mushrooms and dry-sear until the ’shrooms are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle the oil all around the pan and cook 1 minute more, shaking the pan to coat the ’shrooms evenly. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper and remove from the heat.

image Divide the seared mushrooms evenly among 4 soup bowls and top with the green onions. Pour the miso broth over and around the ’shrooms.

Pro Tip

Shimeji mushrooms (a.k.a. beech or clamshell mushrooms) come in clusters of several long, skinny stems topped by white or brown caps. You could use pencil-thin enoki mushrooms instead.

OPTION

image Save a few cooked cauliflower florets for garnish. Or garnish with broccoli florets for more color. A few drops of chile oil, some cilantro sprigs, and crumbled toasted nori flakes make nice additions, too.