I have to admit I have no idea how I stumbled on this recipe. Maybe it was from trying to figure out how to use up the stoneground cornmeal in my pantry? In any case, somewhere, somehow, and at some time, I added the Serious Eats Hearty Vegan Polenta and Kale Soup with Miso and Toasted Sesame Oil recipe to my Pinterest account.
Also unclear is why I decided to make this recipe a few weeks ago. In any case, something inspired me to buy a leek, miso and kale for the task. Looking at the recipe comments, I opted for low-sodium miso and low-sodium bouillon for the soup base to avoid over-salting the soup. Other than those modifications though, I largely followed the recipe as is.
I started by sauteeing the leeks in oil
Then added the vegetable stock and cornmeal
As the cornmeal thickened up the soup, I added a quart of ribbed kale leaves
Cooked the kale down for 5 - 10 minutes
And then added in the miso, (low-sodium) soy sauce, and some scallions
The final result was perhaps not surprisingly a little under salted! I ended up adding some more salt, and found the dish to be creamy and filling for a winter night. I also thought the miso had a wonderful effect on the kale, by cutting the bitterness in this really delicious way. I had no idea I could like kale this much in soup!
I ended up making this soup again the next week, and added in some regular sodium bouillon which had the effect of resulting in a perfectly salted soup. I definitely think this will become a welcome staple to my weeknight winter dinner rotation!
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