Fresh Pea Soup With Miso

Fresh Pea Soup With Miso
Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(142)
Comments
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This simple Japanese-inflected soup has a delicate green flavor and a lovely creamy consistency. Served in small bowls, it makes a perfect beginning to a spring meal. Using white miso (shiro miso) keeps the soup light; red miso (a k a miso) gives it a nutty, more earthy flavor. Both are good. Japanese groceries sell fragrant shiso leaves in tiny bunches, and also offer the best choices for soft, silken tofu.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1tablespoon coconut or vegetable oil
  • 1medium leek, diced, both white and tender green parts
  • ¾pound sugar snap peas, trimmed, then chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4cups hot chicken broth or dashi
  • 4tablespoons white or red miso
  • 4ounces soft tofu
  • 2tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
  • A few shiso (perilla) leaves, roughly chopped (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

148 calories; 6 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 659 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add snap peas to pot and season well with salt and pepper. Add 1 cup water and simmer until peas are soft, about 3 minutes. Add broth and miso and cook 1 minute more.

  3. Step 3

    Purée mixture in a blender, then pour through a fine mesh sieve, pressing with a wooden spoon to extract all liquid. Return strained soup to pot and check seasoning. (May be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat just before serving.)

  4. Step 4

    To serve, spoon a little tofu into each small soup bowl. Pour hot soup over. Garnish with scallions and shiso.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
142 user ratings
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Comments

I thought this soup was delicious and a wonderful use of my bumper crop of snow peas. I didn't bother straining the soup. I think this could go off in all sorts of interesting directions. Serve cold like gazpacho, perhaps adding some raw cucumbers. How about a Thai direction, lemon grass? ginger? But make this as is you'll love it.

Very good, but next time I would add more snap peas!

I skip the water and simmer the snap peas in dashi. Works well with frozen sugar snap peas. Minced cilantro or chiffanade of Thai basil also nice as a garnish. Excellent recipe.

Not sure if I did something wrong but this was VERY salty!

The soup is good! I was trying to find my dashi granules, but the chicken stock did the job for now. I didn't strain it since I wanted to keep as much nutrients as possible (I started making soup today and yesterday to help my roommate while she's sick). I doubled the amount of tofu because I felt 4 oz was too little (and just to help use up the container of tofu since they're usually like 12 oz-16 oz a container). I also made rice to accompany the soup.

Be super careful when blending hot liquids! Make sure lid is on tight and hold it on with a folded dish towel. I used mint as a sub for shiso. Delicious and would be nice cold ala gazpacho as another reviewer said.

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