Winter on lockdown · Miso shiitake & ginger soup

There are few things I enjoy more than making and eating soup this winter season. Don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling a deep need for warm cosy and nourishing broths, loaded with nutrients and minerals as the times are calling for immune boosting ‘witchery’ like never before.

Every day is a new soup recipe day, and I find myself getting so excited about what I’m going to create with all the seasonal bounty I gather from local organic farmer’s market and our all-organic biodynamic grocery store Marqt here in Amsterdam.

I love linking one meal to the next, with blending leftovers and making the most out every single thing we buy and cook.

For example, we eat chicken every two to three weeks and we always buy the biggest whole chicken available. This is for two reasons, a) it makes for a few portions and we get to eat different parts the day after on another recipe, and b) I get to make bone broth from the precious carcass.

With this magic potion that is homemade chicken broth I can make the most delicious soup at least twice in the week that follows. Isn’t that absolutely amazing?

Homemade broth from leftover bones of another meal is not only delicious, super packed with nutrients you don’t find anywhere else like collagen, and it’s also ethical and sustainable to use all parts of the animal without wasting anything.

Any soup I make that contains my homemade broth is ten times more delicious and feels way more nourishing that using just water. Same goes for vegetable broth by the way, which sometimes I make in the morning by simmering an onion, carrot, celery and some herbs in a pot of water for a few hours. For chicken broth I just add the cooked leftover carcass in there.

So I’ll share with you my absolutely favourite soup of this season, as I found it randomly one day as I was looking for what to make with the very few ingredients I had in my kitchen at that time. As it proved right, I had just the right ones!

This is a super quick, delicious and nourishing winter soup as it contains all the things you need to feel satiated, and boost your immune system like crazy.

Shiitake · medicinal mushroom known for its immune boosting super powers

Miso · complete protein source along with probiotics and minerals

Bone broth · source of collagen, niacin, riboflavin, as above

Ginger root · super antioxidant protecting against bacteria and viruses

Kombu · seaweed full of potent nutrients only found in seafood like iodine, plus many others

Ingredients

· 25g dried shiitake mushrooms

· 1L chicken broth (homemade much preferable)

· good piece of fresh ginger root sliced in thin chunks

· 1 tbsp miso paste (I use genmai which is made of brown rice)

· piece of dried kombu seaweed

Process

First soak the dried shiitake in some hot water for about 30min to an hour. Once soft take out the mushrooms and slice them, and reserve the mushroom water for later.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil, and add the mushroom water, the sliced shiitake and ginger root, the miso paste and the piece of dried kombu. Slow down the heat and simmer gently for about 30min until all the ingredients come together. Taste and add more miso accordingly, I like it super strong.

To serve, take out the kombu (which you can chop into a salad separately) and add to serving bowls. Voila!

Final tip

I just found out that a variation of this recipe is also Kombu Shiitake Dashi after the traditional Japanese stock recipe when made with water instead of chicken broth (and without the miso). One for you veggie fans.