Viva Lewes Issue #112 January 2016

food
Butternut squash and white miso soup
John Bayley at Cashew Catering prepares a healthy, hearty winter soup
My interest in cooking and nutrition really
started in my late teens when, like several of
my mates, I decided to become a vegetarian. I
quickly realised that if I was going to keep myself
healthy I needed better kitchen skills and a
greater understanding of nutrition. Ever since,
I’ve done my best to make sure that the food I
prepare for myself and my family at home and
for my customers is nutritionally balanced and
nourishing.
This soup is easy to make, full of protein & vitamin
B and beta-carotene. I like to top it with a
vegan pesto, wasabi and cashew cream, an ume
and raspberry dressing and a sprinkling of shiitake
crisps. This recipe serves two to four.
For the soup:
1kg Butternut (or other) squash
2-3 onions
1 clove garlic
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup white miso
400ml water
salt (to taste)
Cut the squash into big chunks and rub with a
little oil. Roast the squash and the onions – you
can leave these whole - in the oven at a medium
heat until soft. Then peel the onions and
scrape out the flesh from the squash. Liquidise
them together with the garlic, coconut milk and
water until the mixture is completely smooth.
Gently simmer the soup for about 20-30mins
to cook through that raw garlic that went in,
then take off the heat. Instead of a stock I use
miso paste – you can use any kind but I like
white miso because it’s particularly sweet and
the yellow colour blends into the dish nicely.
Rather than cook the miso – because it’s a fermented
food – I just stir it in at the end. Add a
bit of salt to taste.
The first of the topping is the pesto. This pesto
has a specifically Asian twist to it - you wouldn’t
want to serve it to an Italian! My reasoning behind
it is that with this meal you’ve really got
carbs and vegetables and fermented foods, then
the pesto adds protein from the cashew nuts
and green nutrition from the mix of coriander,
mint and chive.
If you really want to fortify the soup you could
add some red lentils to give it more protein.
Put 15g mint, 15g chive, 15g coriander, 60ml
mild-tasting oil, the juice of one lime and one
lemon, one green chilli, 10g ginger and a tablespoon
of water into a food processor. Add
half a teaspoon of salt, then blitz until smooth.
Add 50g toasted cashews, then blend again until
they are breadcrumb-sized.
To make the wasabi and cashew cream, liquidise
half a cup of cashews, with ¾ cup of water, a
tablespoon of wasabi powder – or horseradish
works just as well – and salt to taste. This makes
about 8-10 servings.
For the ume & raspberry sauce blend a tablespoon
of ume, half a cup of fresh or frozen raspberries,
a teaspoon of agave syrup, and enough
water to make a smooth sauce.
The shiitake ‘crisps’ need roughly two mushrooms
per portion, but do as many as you fancy.
Slice them to about 2mm thick and coat the
slices in oil, then season. Roast on medium heat
in the oven until crisp, making sure you check
them and turn where necessary. If any crisp up
more quickly, take those out first. Leave to cool
and serve. As told to Rebecca Cunningham
North Rd, 07786 226220/cashewcatering.co.uk
65