This soup falls under the category: Things I’m Going to Make Again and Again. I know I say that about almost everything on this blog, but also, I only put things on this blog if they’re really, really good.

I was craving a warming soup over the weekend but I was tired of making ones with ginger and turmeric. I hardly ever cook with miso or tahini so I thought I’d give this recipe a try.

A word to the wise: You can buy tahini in the nut butter section of the grocery store but white miso paste is kept in a plastic tub in the refrigerated section. I spent about 10 minutes scouring the Asian foods aisle before I realized this.

It’s okay, though, because this soup made the search worth it. It’s flavorful, warming, fragrant, and surprisingly light. It’s more like a broth than a heavy soup, which makes brown rice the perfect accompaniment. The first day, I ate the soup with brown rice on the side. The second day, I mixed it in and it was even better. It was like chicken and rice soup, just with no chicken.

ANYWAY. I’d highly recommend making this soup as soon as possible. It has fresh, wholesome ingredients that are good during the winter when you’re cold and on the verge of getting sick, and you need nourishment. It’s also great to come home to. You have to be a little careful heating it up because tahini separates easily, but the flavors get even better on day two and the soup doesn’t lose any of its star power.

Here’s a song that reminds me of this soup. It’s good for days when you don’t want to get out of bed but you force yourself to, anyway, and then sing in the car on the way to work.

Miso-Tahini Squash Soup with Brown Rice 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups short-grain brown rice
2 Tbsp virgin coconut oil, melted, divided
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more
1 (1 1/2″) piece ginger, peeled, minced
5 cups vegetable broth
2 pounds butternut squash, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced kale
5 Tbsp white miso paste
1/4 cup tahini
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 scallions, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
sriracha sauce and lime wedges for serving

Directions

Combine the rice, 5 cups of water, pinch of salt, and 1 Tbsp of melted coconut oil in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 25 minutes, or until the rice is al dente. Drain and set aside.

In the meantime, make the soup broth. Melt 1 Tbsp of coconut oil in a heavy-bottom pot over medium high heat. Add the ginger and cook a couple minutes until it’s light brown. Add the vegetable broth and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to get the garlic into the mixture. Bring the broth to a simmer. Add the butternut squash and cook for about 10 minutes. Then add the kale and cook another 5 minutes, or until the squash is soft and tender.

Whisk together the miso paste, tahini, sesame oil, 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 cup of hot water in a large bowl until very smooth. When the broth is done cooking and the vegetables are ready, stir the mixture into the broth (be very gentle because the tahini will separate). Add to a bowl half full of brown rice. Top with scallions, lime wedges, toasted sesame seeds, and sriracha. Enjoy!