Ingredients

  • 1 large or 2 small bunches escarole
  • 1 large onion or 2 leeks
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 TB. cold pressed, unrefined olive oil
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 cp. unhulled sesame seeds (optional)
  • 3-4 TB. mirin (rice cooking wine) or 1 cp. white wine
  • 8-9 cps. water or vegetable stock or a combination
  • 2-3 TB. tamari 
  • 1/2 cp. dry pasta — elbows, small shells, orzo, or ditalini; I use gluten-free pasta
  • Rice parmesan cheese (or percorino romano if not vegan)

 

Directions

  1. Wash greens and chop. 
  2. Wash sesame seeds and drain in a fine mesh strainer.
  3. Heat the oil in a soup pot. 
  4. Add the seeds to the pot along with garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper, and onions.  Sauté, stirring often, until seeds are golden brown. 
  5. Add 8-10 cups water or stock along with the pasta and bring to a boil. 
  6. Turn down flame and simmer 5 -10 minutes.
  7. Add escarole (I added a rinsed can of cannellini beans at this point (optional), bring to a boil again, then turn down heat and simmer 10 minutes more.
  8. Add tamari and mirin or wine to taste. 
  9. Sprinkle with grated Rice Parmesan cheese. If you are not vegan you can use grated Pecorino Romano cheese (sheep).
  10. Add salt and pepper if needed.

 

Tips and Options

Grate ginger on the small holes of a grater in a circular motion. Grating it back and forth causes it to get stringy.  I have a ginger grater which is a small dish with sharp prongs. I grate the ginger, then pour a little of the soup stock over it to get it out of the dish (or off of the grater).

For a heartier soup, add vegan sausage, sliced and added when you sauté the herbs. If you are not vegan, use organic chicken sausage.

You can use endive or any hard dark leafy green instead of escarole or a combination.

Instead of  tamari, you can use 4-5 tsp. miso. Chickpea Miso is very good in this soup.

High quality tamari made the traditional way has health benefits when used moderately and in cooking only. Traditionally made tamari is a good source of amino acids and glutamic acid.  Because it is fermented it contains enzymes that benefit digestion. I like Mitoku brand. Eden is also a good brand.

I use Imagine liquid vegetable bouillon.  

These may interest you:

Leafy Green Vegetable Recipes

Miso Vegetable Soup

Sweet and Savory Oats

How the Flavor of Food Heals or Harms