Health Soup

health soup

Is it just my imagination, or every winter do we think more people are more sick than any time in recent history? I’m no PhD with the CDC, but my theory is that each year rather than being more SICK, we’re actually more BUSY and less tolerant of having to spend a day or two resting when our bodies feel unwell.

Either way, no one likes to feel lousy and no one likes for the people they love to feel lousy. So, this year, when my two kids were on their third consecutive day of missing school due to illness, I was ready to do whatever I could to get them feeling better (and out of the house) again.

When I came upon Tamar Adler’s Health Soup recipe in the New York Times cooking section, it stopped me in my tracks. We always think of soup as a wonderful cure-all, a comfort to the ill as much those who care for them, but a soup actually named “Health Soup” cannot be ignored!

Full disclosure, I’m a long-time Tamar Adler fan and will read anything she writes and cook any recipe of hers I find. If you haven’t read, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace, do. It’s a thoughtful approach to food and how we prepare it – and it’s beautifully written.

On to the making of the soup…

I found everything I needed for this recipe at Berkshire Co-op Market. Seriously, EVERYTHING. (Hooray for one stop shopping!)

The soup begins with the making of a dashi — a traditional Japanese broth base. To make the dashi, I did a quick rinse of 2 oz. of kombu (to pull off a little of the excess salt) and put it into a stock pot with (just shy of) 4 quarts of water.

I brought that up to ALMOST a boil, turned off the heat and removed the kombu with tongs.

Then I added 2 smashed garlic cloves, 2 1/2 cups of dried bonito flakes, 1/2 teaspoon of dried chili flakes and 1/4 cup of dried shitakes. I brought the pot back up to a rolling simmer and let it go for 30 minutes. While the dashi cooked, I prepped my greens…

I used one bunch of lacinato kale which amounted to three cups. You could also use broccoli rabe, or collards. I pulled the greens off the stem and chopped them into bite sized pieces. (If you’re not sure of the size, imagine how it will sit on your soup spoon and chop accordingly – I don’t love soup-sloopy greens.) Once chopped to your satisfaction, set your greens aside.

Next, still while my dashi simmered, I chopped a bunch of scallions. I favor the lighter end of the scallions and don’t chop all the way up to the tips, which I find can be a bit tough. I went for a nice thin slice because the scallions don’t cook for long once they go in and I wanted them to just melt right into the soup.

After the dashi had simmered for 30 minutes. I took it off the heat and let it sit for another 10 minutes, then I strained it once and then once again, so I was left with a beautiful, clear broth. (It doesn’t LOOK clear in the picture below because it’s so steamy!) That’s the dashi! Dashi isn’t just a great base for a miso soup, it’s a wonderful poaching broth for fish, or wonderful enjoyed on its own, by the cup to aid digestion or soothe sore throats.

After I returned the strained dashi to the pot, I pulled out about a cup to cool and brought the rest back up to a boil. Once it was boiling, I threw the greens and scallions in and let them cook for about 3 minutes.

While the greens cooked, I mixed 1 tablespoon of fish sauce with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar. At the three minute mark, I added the fish sauce mixture and lowered to a simmer.

Next, I cubed up a pound of firm tofu. The recipe called for silken tofu, but I opted for firm because this is a BIG BATCH of soup, and I wanted my tofu to have enough body to withstand storing and reheating. Also, the The Bridge, traditional kettle style tofu that we sell at the Co-op is firm, but tender, so I felt confident it would work well in the soup.

While still at a simmer, I tossed the tofu into the soup.

At this point, I turned the heat off and added the herbs. The recipe calls for cilantro or basil or a mix of the two. How gorgeous is this organic cilantro?! (On a bit of a side note, my favorite part of creating these posts is being able to take the time to enjoy the beauty of the great ingredients we have available to us.)

I added 4 cups (that’s NOT a typo – don’t skimp!) of cilantro to the soup and let the residual heat wilt it and release its fragrance.

With the cup of reserved dashi, I mixed 5 tablespoons of golden miso paste to create a miso concentrate which I then incorporated into the rest of the soup. I did it this way to avoid boiling the miso which would destroy some of the lovely (and healthful) probiotics.

Just before serving, a squeeze of fresh lemon adds some bright acidity that finishes the soup beautifully.

This soup has a really nice balance of sweet, sour, salt, bitter and umami that’s both interesting and comforting. Happily enough, it lived up to its name and had my crew out of bed and back to school in (relatively) short order.

I hope you give Health Soup a try! If you do, drop me a line at social@berkshire.coop and let me know what you think of it!