Hearty Vegan Polenta and Kale Soup With Miso and Toasted Sesame Oil

This easy one-pot polenta and kale soup hails from Italy, but we give it a distinctly Japanese twist.

Overhead view of finished soup

Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

Why It Works

  • A homemade vegetable stock is the best base for a tasty soup.
  • Miso paste, soy sauce, and scallions add depth of flavor to a very simple soup.

A couple weeks back I was sitting at the upstairs cafe at Berkeley's Chez Panisse sipping on a bowl of their signature polentina—a simple polenta and kale soup flavored with chile oil and Parmesan cheese—thinking to myself, damn, nobody does simple, delicious, ingredient-focused food like the Italians do.

Good lord, how on earth am I going to survive going vegan without Parmesan cheese?!?

But the more I thought about the Italians and simple food thing, the more I realized that it wasn't entirely true. Take Japanese food, for instance. And I'm not talking wacky multi-ingredient sushi rolls or crazy street foods. I'm talking the simple, ingredient-focused style of cooking that is at the heart of Japanese cuisine. If anything, it's even starker than Italian food, but just as delicious. The interesting part is that with both cuisines, you see a few common themes—approaches to food that get used over and over again.

It generally starts with one or two pristine ingredients that are prepared very simply. Simmered, grilled, or lightly fried, perhaps. Next, those fresh ingredients are paired with a powerhouse condiment, and I use that term loosely here. In Italy, it might be really good extra-virgin olive oil, or perhaps some anchovies, or a grating of well-aged Parmesan. In Japan, it's good soy sauce, miso, or a light dashi stock. It's these condiments that add depth and bring out the innate flavors of the primary ingredients. Oscar-worthy supporting actors of the pantry, if you will.

So I wondered: What would happen to this polentina soup if I were to simply swap out some of those Italian flavors with some more Japanese ones, keeping the base ingredients the same?

Deliciousness, that's what.

This soup couldn't be easier: sweat some leeks, garlic, and chile flakes in a good amount of extra-virgin olive oil (olive oil and soy sauce are a great combination!), add some homemade vegetable stock, stir in some coarse cornmeal (aka polenta), then let the whole thing simmer until the polenta is tender.

Finally, stir in some kale and heat it until wilted, then flavor the whole thing with a couple tablespoons of light miso, a dash of soy sauce, and a shower of sliced scallions.

A spoon ladles up some vegan polenta and kale soup from a serving bowl.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

The soup comes out rich, thick, and hearty, with a great aroma from the olive oil and miso. Though toasted sesame oil is definitely not an Italian condiment, I really like how it tastes with the other flavors in this bowl (and, let's be real, we long ago threw tradition out the window with this recipe). The miso-in-place-of-Parmesan trick is so simple, tasty, and downright interesting that I plan on breaking it out many more times in the future. I highly suggest you try it, whether you're a vegan or not.

February 2015

This recipe was cross-tested in 2022 and lightly updated to reflect test results; it no longer calls for Better Than Bouillon, a stock product that contains salt. Its removal (and the added specification that any stock used should be unsalted) should address comments about salt levels in the recipe.

Recipe Details

Hearty Vegan Polenta and Kale Soup With Miso and Toasted Sesame Oil

Cook 50 mins
Active 15 mins
Total 50 mins
Serves 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons (90ml) extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 large leek (about 10 ounces; 283g), white and light green parts only, finely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 3 medium cloves garlic, minced

  • Large pinch red pepper flakes

  • 2 quarts (1.9L) homemade unsalted hearty vegetable stock, easy vegetable stock, or dashi

  • 1 cup dried polenta (5 1/2 ounces; 156g)

  • 3 1/2 ounces (99g) stemmed and roughly chopped lacinato kale (about 1 packed quart, from one 8-ounce bunch)

  • 2 tablespoons (30g) white miso paste, plus more to taste

  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) soy sauce, plus more to taste

  • 4 medium scallions (about 3 ounces/85g total), thinly sliced (about 1 cup), divided

  • Toasted sesame oil, for serving

Directions

  1. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil, leeks, and a pinch of salt over medium-low heat, stirring often, until very soft but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add vegetable stock.

    Stirring leeks and onions in the saucepan

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

  2. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the polenta. Stirring frequently, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until polenta is tender and the soup is thickened, about 15 minutes.

    Two image collage of polenta being added and thickening in saucepan

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

  3. Stir in kale, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in miso, soy sauce, and half of scallions until miso is fully incorporated. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and/or additional miso and soy sauce, if desired.

    Two Image collage of kale and miso being added to saucepan

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

  4. Serve, drizzling with sesame oil and sprinkling with remaining scallions. Extra soup can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days.

    Adding scallions to finished soup

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
217 Calories
14g Fat
21g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 217
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 18%
Saturated Fat 2g 12%
Cholesterol 2mg 1%
Sodium 1129mg 49%
Total Carbohydrate 21g 8%
Dietary Fiber 2g 9%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 10mg 49%
Calcium 47mg 4%
Iron 2mg 9%
Potassium 203mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)