Miso Soup with Winter Vegetables

This soup is very warming, and surprisingly filling compared to the more usual, brothy miso soups.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, quartered and sliced
4 medium potatoes, peeled and finely diced (see Variation)
1 1/2 cups shredded white cabbage, preferably Napa
1 large celery stalk, cut into thick matchsticks
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
1 cup peeled, diced daikon radish, white turnip, or parsnip
1 recipe Asian Mushroom Broth (page 00), shiitake mushrooms reserved
8 ounces soft tofu, blotted and cut into small dice
1/4 cup dry red wine or sherry
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 to 3 tablespoons miso, any variety, to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Cooking Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and sauté over medium-low heat until golden.
2. Add the potatoes, cabbage, celery, carrot, and daikon radish. Cover with the broth, then stir in the wine and ginger.
3. Trim the shiitake mushrooms used in making the broth of their tough stems, then slice the caps and add them to the soup along with the tofu, wine, and ginger. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are done. Remove from the heat.
4. Dissolve the miso in just enough water to make it smooth and pourable. Stir it into the soup, then taste to see if you’d like to add more. Season with plenty of pepper and serve at once.

Makes 6 servings.

Variation: Substitute one medium sweet potato for two of the white potatoes.

Recipe provided courtesy of Nava Atlas; www.vegkitchen.com.