As the days colder and shorter, the recipes I make and share are getting heartier and warmer! This week I’ve made another soup using that beautiful bounty of carrots, and a grain bowl with a variety of differently prepared veg. Both warm, filling, and bursting with the beautiful colours and vibrant flavours from this weeks Root Radical share.
The miso carrot soup takes about 30-40 minutes to make. It’s a classic one-pot soup, and is naturally vegan (if using veggie stock) and gluten free. The miso creates a depth of flavour to the sweetness of the carrots, and the green onion garnish adds a perfect pop of freshness (and colour!). The recipe comes straight from Deb Perlman of smitten kitchen, though I did make one adjustment by adding in some lime juice.
The veggie and grain bowl is really just an idea and flavour profile – you can switch in whatever veg you like (broccoli, carrot, pepper, winter squash), cooked in whichever ways (steamed, sautéed, roasted, raw). The green onions, mint, sesame, tamari, and lime make this dish so satisfyingly savoury, sweet, acidic, and herbaceous. You can also use soba or rice noodles, brown rice or quinoa in place of the jasmine rice. Add crispy fried tofu or a crispy fried egg for added protein. To make this a quick weeknight meal, steam the sweet potatoes instead – this will shorten the cooking time.
More Magnificent Meal Musings:
- Sweet Potato, Kale, and Scallion Fritters with a Mint Yogurt Sauce
- Carrot Salad with Tahini and Crisped Chickpeas (from smitten kitchen)
- Sweet Potato and Kale/Spinach Gratin
- Spinach/Kale and Sweet Potato Frittata
- Potato Gnocchi with Spinach and Parmesan
- Tamari Lime Salad with Lettuce, Pear, Scallion, and Roasted Almonds
Miso Carrot Soup
This recipe comes from Deb Perlman of smitten kitchen (if you haven't yet noticed, she is my go-to recipe blog writer. What she does is magic). I've literally copied and pasted the recipe here, with one small change – I added just a bit of lime juice, as I felt the soup was lacking that little bit of brightness. But with that addition, this soup hits all the sweets spots (and salty, earthy, spicy ones too).
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 pounds carrots thinly sliced
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 4 regular or 6 small garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped or grated ginger or more to taste (I doubled this)
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1/4 cup white miso paste, or more to taste I only had genmai (brown rice) miso paste on hand, and it worked out well, but did turn the soup a darker shade of orange.
- 1-2 tsp lime juice optional
Garnish
- Drizzle of toasted sesame oil
- 2 – 4 scallions very thinly sliced
Instructions
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Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, onion and garlic sauté until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add broth and ginger. Cover and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
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Puree soup in batches in blender, or all at once with an immersion blender. In a small bowl, whisk together the miso an a half-cup of the soup. Stir the mixture back into the pot of soup. Taste the soup and season with salt, pepper or additional miso to taste. Add optional lime juice at this point as well.
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Ladle into bowls and garnish each with a drizzle of sesame oil and small mound of scallions.
Sweet Potato and Sesame Greens Bowl
This recipe is really just an idea and flavour profile – you can switch in whatever veg you like (broccoli, carrot, pepper, winter squash), cooked in whichever ways (steamed, sautéed, roasted, raw). The green onions, mint, sesame, tamari, and lime make this dish so satisfyingly savoury, sweet, acidic, and herbaceous. You can also use soba or rice noodles, brown rice or quinoa in place of the jasmine rice. Add crispy fried tofu or a crispy fried egg for added protein.
Also – to make this a quick weeknight meal, steam the sweet potatoes instead – this will shorten the cooking time.
Ingredients
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 1 bag sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil for roasting
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
Sautéed Sesame Greens (this is the simplified version of the Sesame Greens recipe from my first blog post of the season)
- 1 – 1 1/2 bags greens (baby kale, spinach), chopped
- 2 tsp tamari
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
Sesame Lime Sauce
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 2 Tbsp tamari
- 1/2 inch knob of grated ginger
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 pinch chili flakes
Garnishes
- 10-12 mint leaves, chopped
- 2-4 green onions, chopped
- 4 lime wedges
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400. Toss the sweet potatoes, oils, and spices in a rimmed baking tray and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Flip and continue roasting for another 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of your cubes.
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While the sweet potatoes are roasting, put on some rice/noodles, and make the sauce. Simply make the sauce by combining all ingredients, tasting, and adjusting the seasoning to your liking (I like my sauces quite acidic, so you may find you want to add more tamari).
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With only a couple minutes left on your roasting sweet potatoes, sauté your greens. Rinse them lightly and then toss into a heated pan with tamari and rice vinegar. Once they have wilted and reduced in size, turn off the heat and stir in the sesame seeds.
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Assemble the bowl by first placing the rice or noodles at the bottom, and then top with sweet potato, greens, mint, green onion, and a lime wedge. Pour the sauce overtop and enjoy!