MISO LIME SOUP WITH SWEET POTATOES, VEGETABLES, AND NOODLES

Miso soup is one of my family's favorite and is so versatile, healthy, and delicious. I chose this recipe to use up some sweet potatoes I baked earlier that week and it turned out amazing!

The original recipe is by Martha Stewart: Soba and Sweet Potatoes in Miso-Lime Broth. I altered it quite a bit to suit my tastes and available ingredients. When cooking, I make extra so I can have leftovers for other meals. For noodle soups where I anticipate leftovers I keep the cooked noodles separate and serve them directly into individual bowls then spoon in the rest of the soup. If I do mix the noodles into the whole pot of soup and there are unexpected leftovers, I drain the broth from the solids and store them separately, otherwise the noodles get too soft.

This soup has cruciferous vegetables and mushrooms which are powerful foods. You can read Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s blog articles to learn specifically about their anti-cancer benefits:

Cruciferous Vegetables Offer Great Cancer Protection

Mighty Mushrooms: Boost Immune Function and Brain Health and Guard Against Cancer

MISO LIME SOUP WITH SWEET POTATOES, VEGETABLES, AND NOODLES

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I did not use)

6 cups water (I used 12 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth instead)

1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger (I used 3 TBSP)

4 scallions, whites and greens separated and thinly sliced (I only had 3 scallions so also added a small chopped onion)

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I didn’t have so used a 3 1/2 oz package of maitake mushrooms)

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced (I used 2 leftover small baked sweet potatoes, peeled)

4 ounces soba or other buckwheat noodles (I used a 9 1/2 oz package)

2 heads baby bok choy, sliced in 1/2-inch pieces (I used 4 heads plus 1/2 napa cabbage shredded)

1/2 cup sweet white miso (I substituted yellow miso, 4 TBSP miso dissolved in 1 cup water because I was out of white)

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving (I used 5 TBSP lime juice and the zest of the lime)

Kosher salt, to taste (I did not add because I used vegetable broth instead of water)

Instructions by Martha Stewart

1. In a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add ginger, scallion whites, and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add shiitakes and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Add sweet potato and toss to coat. Add 6 cups water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook soba according to package instructions. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Set aside.

3. Add bok choy to soup and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in cooked soba.

4. Remove 1 cup hot broth and whisk with miso until smooth, then stir into soup. Add lime juice and season with salt. Serve with scallion greens and lime wedges.

What I did

1. In medium pot over medium heat added vegetable broth, lime juice, lime zest, onion, garlic, and mushrooms. After about 10 minutes when vegetables had somewhat softened, added scallions, bok choy, and cabbage. Simmered until softened, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cooked and drained noodles per package instruction. Dissolved miso in water.

3. To the pot I added the noodles, ginger, and sweet potatoes and cooked for a few minutes.

4. Took the pot off the stove, added the dissolved miso. Makes about 8 generous servings (Martha Stewart’s recipe makes 4 servings).

Image credit