Watercress Soup with Tofu and Vegan Broth
Garlicky, lemony, deep, rich, complex and flavorful vegan broth is the foundation of this peppery watercress soup, also featuring shiitake mushrooms and tofu. If you’re cold, this soup will warm you up and put a smile on your face. It’s very light, a perfect first course for your meal. This soup only takes 15 minutes or so to make, so it’s no problem to rustle up even on the busiest of days.
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The Beauty of Broth
I’ve said this before, and I’ll likely say it again- I love broth. I love brothy soups, noodles in broth, beans in broth. If it has broth, I am going to be eating it. I just find broth and brothy soups to be mind-blowingly delicious and addictive- in part, I’m sure, because I like salt – but also because of all the other umami flavors floating around. It’s a great way to get warm and hydrated in winter, and a really easy way to add a lot of vegetables to your soup. Plus, soup is such a versatile, forgiving thing- it’s really hard to make a bad brothy soup.
I actually make my own vegetable stock, which I love because I save money and food waste. I keep a large ziplock bag in my freezer, and as I cook I put all my vegetable scraps in that bag. Onion skins, mushroom stems, pepper cores, potato skins, and all the other bits and pieces make their way into my broth bag. Once the bag is full, I put it all in a big pot and cover with water and bring it to a boil. After a couple hours, we strain the broth from the scraps. The scraps go in the compost and the broth gets put into containers and frozen. And that’s how we always have plenty of broth, for no added money. Each batch is a little different, and they’re basically always delicious- just don’t add too many (or any) bitter greens.
Looking for more Brothy Soups? Try one of these!
- Rhubarb Vegan Hot and Sour Soup
- Baby Bok Choy Christmas Lima Bean Soup
- Lentil and Nettle Soup
- Cold Weather Cabbage Soup with Butternut Squash and Turmeric
- Lentil, Chestnut Mushrooms and Amaranth Winter Soup
- Light and Brothy Vegan Corn Soup
How to Make Watercress Soup
This is a really simple soup, in that it doesn’t need much cooking. First, sauté the shiitake mushrooms and the garlic. That’s when most of the cooking happens. You want to get the mushrooms soft, but not too browned. After that, add the tofu and broth, and bring it up to a simmer. You can simmer it as long as you want at this point, but you don’t need to cook it long- just a few minutes to bring all the flavors out. Add the miso, soy sauce, and the juice from one lemon, and whisk it in until the miso paste is dissolved. Turn off the heat, throw in the scallions and watercress and let the warm broth wilt the watercress. Add salt and pepper (I like a lot of pepper in this soup), and its soup time! This soup holds up well in the fridge, so don’t be afraid to make a large batch and eat it throughout the week.
Watercress Soup with Tofu and Vegan Broth
Ingredients
- 3-5 large shiitake mushrooms
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 8 oz. firm or extra-firm tofu
- Olive oil, for cooking
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp. white miso paste
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 lemon
- 3 scallions
- 8 oz. watercress
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut off and discard the tough stems of the shiitake mushrooms, and make the caps into thin slices. Mince the garlic. Cut the tofu into small cubes.
- In a medium-sized pot, heat a small amount of oil. Add the garlic and shiitakes, and sauté for a couple minutes until the mushrooms soften and the garlic is fragrant. Add the tofu and vegetable broth, cover, and bring to a simmer.
- While the broth is heating, chop the scallions and watercress. When the broth has reached a simmer, add the soy sauce, miso paste, and lemon juice, and whisk until dissolved. Take off the heat and add the watercress and scallions, and stir to wilt the watercress. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm.
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Hi Valerie,
I found your site because I have watercress being delivered in my grocery order and was looking for new ways to use it. This recipe caught my eye right away. I am a fellow broth lover (also shitakes). I love cooking heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo because it creates such delicious broth. I have to try hard to set aside some broth and beans for that week’s recipes because when the beans are ready I can eat the whole pot. I fill a bowl with the beans and broth, add a little tamari, a squeeze of lemon, a few snips of fresh herbs, a bit of cayenne and a lot of freshly ground black Tellicherry peppercorns, and it is heavenly to me. It is the only time I overeat! A love of lots of black pepper is another thing we have in common. I am mostly self taught by talented people like you. I just subscribed and I am looking forward to reading all your recipes. I will always comment to let you know when I make one of your recipes. So glad I found you. I am so tired of looking at heavy soups with way too many ingredients and creamy pureed soups. First up I will make this watercress soup over the weekend, I always feel so good and healthy after eating brothy soup. Keep up the great work!
Hi Janice,
Thank you for the thoughtful comment! I too am a big heirloom bean and Rancho Gordo fan- it might be a bit strange but I’ve been known to sip my bean broth from a mug.
I actually have a soup recipe for you that combines heirloom beans and brothy soups- it uses Christmas Limas!
https://veryveganval.com/2017/05/24/christmas-lima-bean-soup/
Again, thanks for the lovely comment and we’re glad to have you here!
Thanks so much for pointing out this recipe, Val. I’ve never had the Christmas limas but never met a lima bean I didn’t love, so adding to my next RG order.
I do the mug thing too!! Making a pot today of Caballero beans, never tried them before but supposed to be thin skinned and extra creamy.
Got a new vegetable chopper from Mueller, 1.5 cup, cheap on Amazon, love it. It very finely minces garlic ginger celery and carrots, so I upped my mug game. I add the minced stuff to my one quart sauce pot, add the broth and simmer a couple minutes, add fresh ground black pepper or ground cayenne, depending on mood, and pour into my largest stoneware mug…pure heaven and so healthy.
I’m looking forward to making the watercress soup over the weekend, I’ll let you know how it turns out. I feel my love of cooking so invigorated since finding your site. I think you are truly a creative genius, and since I am not, I really appreciate you!
Thanks again, Janice