Winter vegetable miso soup

This makes a wonderfully warming winter lunch and uses up the slightly wilted root vegetables that are languishing at the bottom of the veg drawer or the root cellar.  Serves 2, or keep the second serving for the next day.

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• Small chunk of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 good double-handful of cabbage (Chinese or European), chopped
• About a cup of carrots, turnip, parsnip, sweet radish, white beet, or any other root vegetable, sliced thin or cut into matchsticks
• Fresh mushrooms, sliced or dried mushrooms, reconstituted
• 4 oz firm tofu (about 1/4 of a ‘large’ (450g) package or 1/2 a ‘small’ (225g) package), cut into small cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive or other vegetable oil
• 1-2 tablespoons miso paste (to taste)
• 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce (to taste)

– Stir-fry the onions and ginger in the olive oil.
– When the onions soften, add the root vegetables and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
– Add the cabbage and cook until it brightens and wilts.
– Transfer the vegetables to a small pot.
– Add two cups of cold water, the miso paste, the soy sauce, the tofu, and the mushrooms. Stir until the miso paste dissolves.
– Heat on low until the soup steams and the tofu is heated through, but do not boil.
– Garnish with spring onions or chives.

I use a small, thick-bottomed pot for both the stir-frying and the soup, that way there’s only one pot to wash.