A light and bright soup for a dreary fall or winter day, this soup is full of “super foods”: garlic, ginger, kale, beans, shitake mushrooms. A boost to the spirit and to the immune system.
Ingredients:
6 dried shitake mushrooms
6 cups water
2 Tbsp peanut oil (unrefined)
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger root
3 carrots, diced
4 cups chopped kale or collard greens (I used Lacinato kale in today’s soup)
2 cups cooked cannellini beans (most economical is to use dried, see instructions below; canned are OK too — please drain and rinse well)
1/4 cup mirin (rice wine)
Tamari
Apple cider vinegar
Toasted sesame oil
Instructions:
1. Place dried mushrooms in a medium pot with the 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.
2. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and cheesecloth, reserving liquid. Remove reconstituted mushrooms, squeezing out the excess liquid into the broth, and cut them into thin slices, removing and tough stems.
3. In a large soup pot over medium heat, warm the oil, then saute the onion, garlic and ginger for 3 to 4 minutes, until soft. Do not let it burn or brown.
4. Add the carrots and cook for 3 or 4 more minutes.
5. Add the greens, and mix well. If you are using collard greens, you will want to cook them for at least 8 minutes here, until they turn bright green and begin to soften. The kale will only take 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Add the beans and mirin rice wine. Stir to incorporate.
7. Pour broth over your vegetables, add mushrooms, add a Tbsp of tamari and a Tbsp of apple cider vinegar and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.
Season to taste with tamari/soy/Bragg’s and toasted sesame oil. Enjoy!
