Description
A delicate soup made with sautéed veggies, a bone broth base, a touch of sugar and balsamic vinegar to add a hint of sweetness, soba noodles, and mung beans and/or chopped onions layered on top for healthy, low calorie, and tasty meal.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 cups (250 g) chopped red onion (from about 1 [312 g] red onion) (or white or yellow, perhaps)
- 1 cup (125 g) chopped carrots (from 4 [203 g] carrots, peeled and sliced into thin coins)
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 cup (30 ml) balsamic vinegar (we like the short, squatty bottle from Trader Joe’s)
- 1/4 cup (40 g) sugar (ideally coconut sugar or Sucanat), plus more to taste
- 4 cups (950 ml) unsalted vegetable stock (or beef stock)
- 2 cups (570 ml) water
- 1–2 tablespoons gelatin (optional)
- 1 tablespoon organic soy sauce (optional)
- a squirt or two sriracha (optional, but great heat-adder, just do it to taste! start small!)
- 8 ounces (220 g) organic soba noodles
For Toppings:
- mung bean sprouts
- chopped green onions
- fresh herbs, as desired
Instructions
- In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt a tablespoon of coconut oil. Once oil is hot, add chopped onion, chopped carrots, salt, and pepper. Stir mixture together, letting everything get coated with oil, and let cook for about 10 minutes. At this point, add balsamic vinegar and sugar, stir everything together again, and let cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add stock and water, along with gelatin if using. Let everything cook until vegetables are fully softened, about 15 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate stockpot, bring enough water to a boil to be able to cook the soba noodles. Add a dash of salt, if you like. Once water boils, add noodles, cook for 10 minutes, until al dente. Drain and place in a bowl.
- Use a ladle to serve soup – in each bowl, soup of the vegetable mixture, some of the noodles, and then your choice of toppings (suggestions above).
Notes
One last thing! You’ll note we added gelatin to the stock, which we sometimes do when we’re using vegetable broth as a soup base. Should you have extra grass-fed gelatin laying around from your recent tea gelatin, let’s just say, then here’s another way to use it!
This can be made gluten-free if you choose 100% buckwheat soba noodles and gluten-free soy sauce (many varieties contain wheat products).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
Keywords: balsamic, vegetable, noodle, soup, soba