Nobu's Tomato and Miso Soup
My newest cookbook is Nobu's Sushi Cookbook (in Japanese). The photos are gorgeous and so detailed when it comes to making nigiri and roll sushi. The English version should be coming out this spring, so be sure to look out for it.
The first recipe we tried was perhaps the easiest, Tomato and Miso Soup. The tomato is from Kumamoto on the southern island of Kyushu. The miso is an aka dashi, made from soybeans that is slightly heady and intense. The sweetness and acidity from the tomato was perfectly balanced by the dark, red miso. It is simply garnished with hana hojiso, the flowers from the shiso plant, that adds a hint of shiso.
We were in a rush and didn't have time to make dashi from scratch so we used Marukome liquid miso (マルコメ液みそ 赤だし). The liquid miso includes dashi so we cooked the tomato and then added the liquid miso diluted with some hot water. To the table in minutes.
And herein lies the brilliance of Nobu Matsuhisa. Simple ingredients combined for a winning dish. We had this for breakfast and it was so addictive that we made it for lunch. Had there been any more tomatoes in the refrigerator.
Also from his cookbook: Clear Soup with Chysanthemum Petals
NOBU no Sushi, in Japanese is available in bookstores throughout Japan. Look for the English version this spring around the world.
