Miso Tomato Minestrone

Method

1. Prepare the vegetables. Dice the onion and carrot into 1 cm pieces and cut the daikon into 5 mm-thick quarter rounds. Cut the cabbage into 2 cm squares; stem the shiitake and slice them thinly. Cut the bacon into 1 cm strips and thinly slice the spring onions.

2. Put the olive oil and bacon in a 20 cm pot and cook over medium heat for 3 min to render the fat. Add the onion, carrot and daikon and cook for 4 min more, until the onion is translucent and the vegetables are glossy with fat.

   Add in this stepOlive oil 1 tspBacon 40 gOnion 80 gCarrot 60 gDaikon radish 80 g

   medium heat

3. Add the tomatoes, dashi and shiitake, bring to a boil over high heat and skim off any foam, then lower to medium-low heat and simmer for 12 min. It's ready for the next step when the daikon turns translucent and a chopstick slides in easily.

   Add in this stepCanned chopped tomatoes 200 gDashi (Japanese kelp and bonito stock) 600 mlFresh shiitake mushrooms 2

   high heat→medium-low heat

4. Add the cabbage and macaroni and simmer over medium heat for 8 min, stirring now and then so the macaroni doesn't stick, until the macaroni is tender.

   Add in this stepCabbage 80 gMacaroni (small pasta) 30 g

   medium heat

5. Turn the heat down to low heat. Put the miso in a ladle, add a little broth and dissolve it with chopsticks, then stir it into the pot. Don't let the soup boil after adding miso, or its aroma fades. Taste, and dissolve in a little more miso if it needs it.

   Add in this stepWhite miso 1½ tbsp

   low heat

6. Turn off the heat, add the butter and let it melt, then ladle into bowls and scatter generously with spring onions.

   Add in this stepButter 10 gSpring onions 1