We all know that fermented foods are our best friends. This miso tahini noodle soup goes one step further: we add wild greens for even more health benefits. Springtime is perfect for foraging wild greens and adding them to your diet. Mother nature gives us what our body needs at the right time with the changing of the seasons. Wild garlic, dandelions, garlic mustard, magnolia buds and ground ivy, all go into making a perfect nourishing broth. Miso and tahini are a wonderful combination, both salty and nutty. The bitterness from the dandelion leaves and the gingery flavour from the magnolia all add interest to this noodle soup.
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Ingredients
- Dandelion leaves (foraged)
- Wild Garlic (foraged)
- Tahini
- Vegetable Stock
- Noodles
- Magnolia leaves (foraged)
- Ground Ivy (foraged)
- White miso paste
- Garlic mustard (foraged)
See the recipe card for quantities.
In this recipe, I have introduced some foraged wild food. Please read my post "Food For Free: Eat The Weeds" for a close look at dandelions, garlic mustard, and ground ivy.
With regards to magnolia, you may be surprised to find out that it is edible. That's right, not only are the flowers a feast for the eyes in springtime, but they are also literally a feast for our bellies! Magnolia flowers have a gingery flavour. Commonly, they are pickled.
A few words about wild garlic. This can be seen carpeting wet woodlands around springtime. It is quite a sight! The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. Wild garlic can be used in salads and soups or for making pesto. The name gives its taste away - a mild garlic flavour.
Make sure you are confident with your identification. Wild garlic looks similar to the lily of the valley, which is poisonous. Also, be careful when you are picking to not inadvertently pick "lords and ladies" a plant that often grows with wild garlic.
Here are the key identification features:
- Smells of garlic
- Elonggated, spear shaped leaves, 5 to 15cm long
- When flowering, small, 6-petaled white flowers grow on a single stem extending from the centre of connecting leaves.
I have also used some of these foraged ingredients in my Salsa Verde recipe.
Instructions
A day or two before you intend to make this soup, go out and forage for your wild ingredients.
Wash and pat dry all of the foraged ingredients.
Cut the garlic wild garlic, garlic mustard and dandelion leaves into strips. Remove the stems from the ground ivy and roughly chop it. Cut off the end of the magnolia flowers and discard them. Roughly chop the petals.
Boil a pot of water and cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.
In a separate pot, heat up the vegetable stock.
Whisk in the white miso paste and tahini.
Add the chopped wild garlic, garlic mustard and dandelion leaves. Cook for one minute.
Transfer the cooked noodles to serving bowls and pour over the broth with the wild green.
Top the roughly chopped ground ivy and magnolia leaves and serve immediately.
How To Video
Here is a video guide to making noodle soup with foraged greens.
Substitutions
You can use any wild greens available to you in your part of the world.
Variations
Miso Tahini creates a perfect base for this noodle soup with wild greens, however, you can use just miso or any other flavouring base of your choice.
Storage
This soup once made must be eaten immediately, it doesn't keep well. Reheating changes the flavour of the broth and both the noodles and greens end up being overcooked.
Top tip
After you add the miso and tahini to the boiling vegetable stock, immediately turn down the heat and add the greens. Boiling miso and tahini alters the flavour and the stock will split.
📖 Recipe
Miso Tahini Noodle Soup With Foraged Wild Greens
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon White Miso
- 2 tablespoon Tahini
- 500 ml Vegetable stock
- 200 gms Sweet potato noodles or any noodles of your choice
- 20 leaves Wild garlic
- 20 leaves Garlic mustard
- 40 leaves Dandelion leaves
- 40 leaves Ground Ivy small leaves
- 4 buds Magnolia buds
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry all the foraged ingredients. Cut the wild garlic, garlic mustard and dandelion leaves into strips.
- Remove the stems from ground ivy and roughly chop.
- Cut the end of the magnolia flowers and discard it. Roughly chop the petals.
- Boil a pot of water. Once its comes to a boil, cook the noodles as per package instructions.
- In another pan heat up the vegetable stock and whisk in the miso and tahini.
- Add the chopped wild garlic, garlic mustard and dandelion leaves. Cook for a minute.
- Transfer the boiled noodles into serving bowls, pour over the miso tahini broth, and top with chopped ground ivy and magnolia leaves.
- Serve immediately.
Food Safety
In a professional kitchen, food hygiene and safety are a top priority, and from the beginning of training, I practised good habits and routines. Of course, it is also very important to practice good food hygiene and safety at home. Here are some fundamental practices to adopt in the kitchen.
- Wash your hands regularly while preparing, handling and cooking food
- Wipe down countertops and high contact points regularly
- If you cook meat and fish, do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat. Use separate chopping boards for meat and fish. Wash your chopping boards immediately after use.
- Thoroughly cook food to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods (more than 2 hours)
- Store food correctly
For more details on food hygiene and safety in the home, visit the UK Government's Food Standards Agency webpage.
Jans
This is so delicious! Miso and tahini are a perfect match. I made it with what i could find in my backyard. Garlic mustard, stinging nettle, dandelion greens, some baby yarrow leafs, blood sorrel and ground elder. The tahini made it rich and creamy. ❤️
Chef Tripti
Lovely to see you adding more wild food ingredients. I will try these too!