Miso Polenta Breakfast Soup

No joke I would (and might) eat this ev uh ree mor ning. If I saw this on a menu I would be like “yup gotta,” but the reality is better than the description. If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then this baby right here is what I would choose to set me up for the most important day of my life. Hyperbolic? Maybe, but I’m going through my mind-rolodex of past brekkies and I can’t think of one I’d prefer. So have fun with your crepes, your omelets, your McGriddles; I’ll have the soup, thanks.

More simply: Dear Miso Polenta Breakfast Soup,

This new obsession would never have happened had I not assessed my carb holdings on the night I made Cat Soup. At that time, I was like “would polenta soup even work?” The thought popped into my head again yesterday, which drove me to some light late-night (AKA 7pm) Ggoogling. Guess what is totally a thing? POLENTA SOUP.

With that question answered within a few nanoseconds, I was about to close ye olde browser window and get to work on dreaming up my version, but a shiny purdy thing caught my magpie-eye. Polenta soup with miso? I’m nowhere near confident enough to have thought of such a thing and yet I had to have it. Plus it was from Serious Eats, a website that has yet to steer me wrong? Welp, that tears it.

Therefore, we have my first adapted recipe of the year. I altered some ingredients, knocked the serving size down to uno, and unveganed it by adding that uovo – but it stays pretty true to the inspiration. Obviously, you can reveganize it by not using an egg, easy-peasy (eggsy-peggsy).

But look at that yolk though.

As Stefon would say, this soup has everything. Soybeans. Fermented Soybeans. Green stuff. A poached egg. Ground up corn that sounds fancier than grits. The ability to make you think you're living the right life and you can and will achieve all your dreams. 

Another super fun thing about this recipe: As promised by Serious Eats, the miso does an incredible trick in making you think there's Parmesan cheese in here. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, particularly since I'm well aware that David Chang uses this trick at Momofuku Nishi, but now that I've tried it I'm really excited for the pastabilities.

You could certainly make this at any point in the day, but it works so well in the morning. Despite having everything, there aren't really many ingredients, and the ingredients it does have take little to no preparation.

As soon as you dump the polenta in, you have 20 minutes of down-time, which - and this is probably obvious a.k.a. PROBVIOUS - is a perfect time to leave the pot on the stove and hop in the shower. It's all so easy and you'll feel so good, I promise. And it keeps you satisfied all the way until lunch!

Be sure to allow at least 10 minutes to sit down and enjoy your soup while thinking about how far you've clearly come in your journey of self love, to have made such a pretty thing just for you before work.

Don't read this part: This morning I was singing "Egg, you'll be a poached egg soon" to the tune of "Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon" okay bye forever!

Miso Polenta Breakfast Soup

Serves 1

½ tablespoon coconut oil

White part from ½ of a small leek, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup vegetable broth of Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Base (what I used)

1 cup water

¼ cup polenta

1 big handful baby kale leaves (a heaping cup, not packed)

2 teaspoons white miso paste

½ teaspoon tamari or soy sauce

1 scallion, thinly sliced, separated into green and white parts

1 egg

1 tablespoon frozen edamame (just the beans, not in shells), thawed

Black sesame seeds

Toasted sesame oil

Heat coconut oil in a small pot over medium low and add leeks, seasoning with a bit of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring so it doesn’t start to stick, then add pepper flakes and garlic and cook for another minute. Add broth, water and polenta and turn up heat to bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low, then cook for about 20 minutes until polenta is cooked through (time to take a shower!).

Poach the egg: Bring a lil pot of water to a low boil (with a splash of rice vinegar or white vinegar if you’d like to). Crack egg into a small cup or bowl. Stir water to form a whirlpool and dump the egg in the center. Let cook for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on how you like it. Remove with a slotted spoon and set on a plate.

Add kale to polenta pot and stir to wilt. Stir in white miso paste, soy sauce and white portion of sliced scallion, making sure there are no clumps of miso left intact to umami-bomb your morning. Pour into a bowl, and top with poached egg, edamame, a sprinkling of sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil.