Miso Based Butternut Squash and Corn Soup
A healthy recipe made of leeks, squash, and miso paste. Miso is an ingredient regulaly used in Japanese recipes. It is not commonly known in American or other world recipes. But it is becoming increasingly popular because of the vegetartian and recent vegan diet trends.
Equipment
- Heavy bottomed suacepan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Avocado oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 leek, cut along its length, washed under running water to remove all the dirt before it is finely chopped. Chopped leeks also should be washed thoroughly.
- ¼ butternut squash cut in a small dice
- 1 pinch salt leek to help wilt
- 1 cup milk if vegan, you can use plant base milk such as, oatmeal or almond
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon miso paste, dissolved in hot broth
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, green parts of scallion, chopped
Instructions
- Place a heavy bottom pan on the stove. Add olive oil in a cold pan.
- Add chopped leeks, stir and then turn on the heat. This method is used so you don’t over heat olive oil. Overheating olive oil makes it lose flavor.
- Sprinkle pinch salt on leeks to help them wilt, and sweat for a few minutes before sautéing them.
- Add prepared squash and cook stirring until squash is shiny, about 30 seconds.
- In a jar stir together milk and water, before pouring over the vegetable. Make sure that the vegetables are covered with the liquid, add water if not enough liquid.
- Cover and cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, lower the heat until the boil is down to just a simmer.
- When it comes to a simmer, take some of the hot broth to dissolve miso in a bowl making sure that it becomes a smooth paste free of lumps (biting on a lump of miso would be unpleasant).
- Pour the dissolved miso back into the soup, mix and simmer on very low heat for a few minutes. Don’t boil after adding miso.
- Use an immersion blender or blender of choice to blend the soup imto; smooth.
- Add corn to the finished soup to give it a texture.
- Ladle soup into a serving bowl and garnish with chopped parsley, or scallion to serve.
Notes
Things to know about some of the ingredients:
Leeks have a lot of sand in its layers, therefore thorough washing in runnig water is a must.
Do not heat olive oil before adding vegetable. Overcooking olive oil makes it lose its flavor.
Butternut squash does not need to be peeled. But cutting it can be somewhat difficult. Cut it into two equal parts vertically. Then cut each half into two horizontally. You only need a quarter for the recipe.
Miso is a Japanese paste made with a mixture of soy beans, salt, and a grain and has peanut butter texture. It is fermented, therefore, has live enzymes and bacteria. That is why it should not be boiled. Boiling will destroy all the bacteria which are good for digestion.
Information on Miso
Why miso is incredibly healthy? It is nutritious and linked to a variety of health benefits. The most important is better digestion and a stronger immune system. It is considered to be world's healthies foods.
It is a traditional Japanese condiment made by fermenting soybeans with salt and grain. Fermentation process promotes the growth of probiotics, good bacteria, which improves digestion, reduces gas and constipation.
It is a paste with peanut butter consistency and comes in three different colors; white, yellow, and red depending what grain was used, darker the color, it is saltier and has stronger