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And some meal planning and Unagi.
You need to add this Lentil Miso Soup to your box of recipes.
I am an advocate for old traditional dishes but always looking for new flavor combinations and pairings.
Most of the meals I cook are the result of experimenting with what I have at home.
But when I am in a good mood and Mercury is not retrograde, I even plan ahead time the dinners for the whole week. Organizing meals it’s a great way to save food, money and try new things. My rule is simple: six nights, six themes (one night is free, a girl needs to live): vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, chicken, pasta, or pizza. To complete, I buy 6 different vegetables to pair it. It doesn’t have to be a rare lavish veggie, a tomato salad works great. It’s easy to end up always eating the same things, which is not negative per se, but moving out of the food-comfort-zone is better. There is something delicious out there.
Hey, I didn’t say this happens every week, some days I don’t even want to go to the grocery store, or have envy to spend five minutes of my time in the kitchen, and it’s okay. A night like that, I just had lentils, shiitake mushrooms, and Miso.
And soup is born.
One of my current obsessions is Miso. I eat it by the spoon. Miso is fermented soy paste (yes, organic fermented soy is healthy) that has an exotic weird-but-strangely-good flavor. It’s good for your body but keep in mind that it’s salty. Its taste reminds me of the fresh brewer yeast widely used in Italy. I would say it has an umami flavor, another super fancy food-related word that means it’s not sweet, or sour, or salty, or bitter. It’s Umami.
Of course, the word Umami brings me straight to Unagi and to the 617th episode of Friends Friends 617 The One With Unagi – YouTube click here)
I started the Lentil Soup following my family way to cook lentils, adding white wine and bay leaves and a tbsp of tomato paste. It usually has garlic in, but I sauteed onions with shiitake, so I skipped the garlic this time. You can add it if you like it. Special touch: toast some hazelnuts, chop them, and sprinkle on top before serving, with some parsley. Ps. If you don’t have miso or shiitake, don’t stop making this soup! The pairing lentil + mushroom is delicious, so use whatever mushrooms you find!
Ingredients:
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- one garlic clove
- two cups of lentils (washed)
- a glass of white wine
- t two bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 tbs of white or red Miso
- half medium onions
- 10 oz (284 gr) Shiitake mushrooms roughly chopped. I used the whole package I bought at Trader’s joe. You don’t need to be pretty precisely on the weight. If you like more, add more. If you don’t find shiitake use whatever mushroom you can find.
- a handful of toasted hazelnuts (you can substitute with toasted sesame seeds).
- parsley chopped to garnish
How To:
In a pan over medium heat toast the garlic clove in two tablespoons of oil until golden, toss in lentils and let them toast a couple of minutes. Add white wine, and once it’s evaporated (a few minutes), add water to cover. When the soup starts simmering throw in Miso and tomato paste and stir to dissolve. Cook the lentils following the package directions, usually 20 minutes, always checking it there is enough water (if you need more remember to add it hot).
In another pan, sauté the onions with the other two tbsp of oil until translucent and add in mushrooms, cooking for 8/10 mins. Try to place them in one layer so they will get brown edges, just stirring once. When ready, keep a couple of tablespoons mushrooms to decorate the top of the soup and add the rest to the soup.
Serve it hot, and don’t forget to sprinkle on top toasted hazelnuts and parsley.
Happy Unagi Umami to you all!
It pairs very well Caponata, with Roasted Pears, with Baked Cheesecakes, and the day after is even better.
