Properties and uses of miso

During the winter months, nothing like a good hot soup to feel comforted inside... And if in addition to getting warm, you are looking to consume a food with a high nutritional value, miso is an excellent option. This traditional food from Japan and China has a high concentration of nutrients and incredible disease-fighting properties. Miso is made from soybeans, sea salt, and a yeast called koji, and is often combined with other grains and legumes such as white or brown rice, barley, rye, and buckwheat. The mixture is left to ferment for a time that can range from a few days to a few years, giving rise to a very salty paste rich in enzymes. The darker brown paste has had a longer fermentation and contains more nutrients. Miso is a great source of several B vitamins, as well as protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, and iron. If unpasteurized, it contains live lactobacilli that enhance the body's ability to extract nutrients from food. Miso increases the concentration of probiotic bacteria in the digestive tract, which aids in digestion and strengthens the immune system. It can also be effective in removing harmful elements that the body absorbs from environmental or food pollution and in lowering "bad" or LDL cholesterol levels. Below you have a recipe to make miso soup, but keep in mind something very important: Being a ferment, it should not boil or it loses its properties. Traditional miso soup (for 2 people) Ingredients: 100 gr of tofu 2 strips of wakame seaweed 3 teaspoons of miso paste 2 leeks 1 spring onion 2 carrots fresh coriander

• Chop the leeks, spring onion and carrots and sauté everything together in a little olive oil
• Add the tofu cut into small cubes and brown it together with the vegetables
• Separately, boil a liter of water with the seaweed cut into strips
• Take out a cup of this boiled water and dilute the miso
• Add the diluted miso, vegetables and tofu to the water and heat everything without boiling
• Serve with chopped fresh cilantro on top
• Bon appetit!