Miso Mushroom Orzo Soup
Enjoy a comforting bowl of this Miso Mushroom Orzo Soup for lunch, dinner or any time of the day. This pairs well with some crusty bread as well. Fresh mushrooms are cooked down with onions and garlic in vegan butter before being blended until smooth. Set aside some mushrooms to blitz into smaller chunks for extra texture paired with the orzo. The miso paste adds so much flavor and extra umami to this soup, that’s great made in big batches.
Ingredients
FOR THE SOUP
- 21 oz fresh mushrooms , sliced and separated (I use a mix of brown shimeji and shiitake mushrooms)
- 1 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 small white onion , diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- Pinch salt , to season mushrooms
- 4-5 cups water
- 1 vegetable cube or bouillon
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
- 2 tbsp white miso paste
- 1/2 cup dry orzo or risoni
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
TO SERVE
- Chopped chives
- Shiitake mushrooms for topping
Instructions
MUSHROOMS
- For the mushrooms, I separated the shimeji mushrooms and sliced the shiitake mushrooms. I set aside some thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms to sauté and use as topping for the soup.
COOKING THE SOUP
- Heat a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat.
- Melt the vegan butter. Once hot, sauté the diced onion until translucent.
- Add the garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add the mushrooms to the pot. Season the mushrooms with a pinch of salt. Mix to combine with the onions.
- You can cover the pot to allow the mushrooms to cook, around 2-3 minutes.
- Mix the mushrooms to prevent from sticking at the bottom. Allow the mushrooms to cook for another 2-3 minutes or until tender.
- Scoop 1/4 of the mushrooms into a blender or food processor. Quickly pulse or blitz to create smaller chunks. Set aside.
- For the remaining mushrooms, add these into the blender or leave it in the pot (if you have an immersion blender).
- Add the milk, 3 cups water (or stock, if using), vegetable cube (if using water), and miso paste.
- Blend until smooth. You can add more water if you want a runnier consistency.
- In the same pot/dutch oven, you can cook down the thinly slice shiitake mushrooms in a little butter or oil until slightly brown around the edges. I use this for topping to serve later on. Set aside.
FINISHING THE SOUP
- Transfer the soup back into the pot (if using a blender). Add the remaining cup of water (I like to pour the water into the blender to get the excess mushroom soup mixture — nothing goes to water!).
- Mix the soup well and add the orzo. Leave the orzo to cook for 6-8 minutes or until al dente and chewy to your liking. Don’t overcook since the orzo will continue to cook as it sits in the soup.
- Add more water/stock to the soup once the orzo cooks and the soup thickens from the starches.
- Feel free to adjust the consistency of the soup and add more of the water/stock until you reach your desired consistency.
- Mix in the mushroom chunks and season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed.
TO SERVE
- Serve hot and top with the sautéed shiitake mushrooms (if using) and chopped chives. Enjoy!
WATCH Video
Notes
WATER
- For the water, you can start with 3-4 cups. Adjust accordingly and add an additional 1/2 to 1 cup if you want a runnier consistency.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 118kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 369mg | Potassium: 437mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 178IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg
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