Bean, Spinach & Brown Rice Soup with Miso & Oxtail
Nothing screams “SOUP!” like an oxtail or two. Of course, you can still whip up an impressive pot of stew without oxtails, but browning the tails solo and then simmering them into your soup is a fantastically inexpensive way to impart a rich, meaty flavor to your base broth. Individual oxtails are a little smaller than my fist, so they don’t take up much room — I like to keep a bag of them in the freezer and dole them out one by one whenever I feel like making an especially savory stew. Oxtails are typically available at a well-stocked meat counter or — better yet! — from your local farmers.
I’ve also included miso in this soup. Again, it’s an optional ingredient, but miso (fermented soybeans) is another one of those umami-rich ingredients that adds a concentrated hit of savoryness to whatever you’re making. I prefer Eden’s brand of organic miso made with brown rice. It comes in a handy zip-loc pouch and can hang out in your fridge for a solid six months. (It’s already aged for 18.) Just be sure to get a miso made with brown rice rather than wheat if you’re shooting for a gluten-free ingredient. Soy sauce is also often fermented with wheat, so again be sure to get wheat-free soy/tamari sauce if you’re aiming for the g-f version. You’ll find miso in Asian grocery stores or in the Asian-foods section of mainstream stores.
Bean, Spinach & Brown Rice Soup with Miso & Oxtail
This hearty pot of soup makes enough for 4 generous portions…and you’ll have leftovers for lunch, too!
2 oxtails
1 medium onion, chopped
32 oz./4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (if it’s chicken, shoot for free-range)
1 T. miso
15 oz. navy beans (I prefer Eden’s beans since they’re in BPA-free cans)
1 cup frozen peas
8 oz./1 cup (or more) frozen spinach
1 cup cooked brown rice (this is a great way to use up leftover cooked rice)
Melt a dab of ghee or butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the oxtails and onion and sautée, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the oxtails are browned on both sides and the onion is translucent and turning golden brown. (You may want to reduce the heat to medium if the onions are browning too quickly.)
Pour in the broth and whisk in the miso. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the beans and peas and let the soup simmer for another 10 minutes. (It’s better to add these midway through rather than at the beginning to make sure they don’t get too mushy.) Add the spinach and rice and simmer for a final 10 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt or add a dash of soy/tamari sauce if you like. Leftover soup can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Note: pull out the oxtails and discard them before serving the soup — like bay leaves, their purpose is to impart flavor rather than to be served with the final dish. As long as I have leftover soup, though, I like to leave the oxtails in the broth to keep on imparting their rich flavor while the soup waits for you to polish it off.
Enjoy!
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Tags: brown rice, miso, navy beans, oxtails, peas, savory broth, soup, spinach
