French Onion Soup requires a long simmering period to allow its flavors to build slowly. Japanese miso soup is ready in minutes. So what might they have in common? The answer, surprisingly, is miso.

A savory, peanut butter-like paste made from soybeans, miso ranges in color from creamy ivory to earthy black-brown. It can be used many ways in Japanese cooking, but primarily to make a pale gold or deep russet soup. Miso's flavor can also take several different forms, but generally has a salty-sweet taste or even a slight meaty flavor, like beef broth.

Which brings us to Miso Onion Soup. Classic onion soup recipes, like the one in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, get their flavor from deeply browning the onions, then adding wine and beef broth. By using the same technique for the onions and adding miso, you can make a golden brown, fabulously flavorful onion soup. When I serve this soup topped with the traditional toasted bread and grated Parmesan cheese the few people who notice a difference want the recipe.

Supermarkets offer several kinds of miso. For onion soup, I use brown rice miso (sendai in Japanese) or red (aka) miso. Mellow barley (mugi) miso is good, too. You must cream the miso before adding it to the soup. This simply means combining it in a small bowl with an equal amount of liquid by mashing the miso with the back of a spoon against the side of the bowl until it dissolves. If you don't cream the miso, it forms tiny balls that never dissolve in the hot liquid. Stored in the refrigerator, miso keeps for a year or more. Use it to make regular miso soup, and to increase the flavor in other soups and stews.

Miso Onion Soup

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 3 peeled Spanish onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
• 3 cups fat-free, reduced sodium beef broth
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 5 cups water
• 1/4 cup brown or red rice miso
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Six 1" thick slices whole-wheat Italian bread
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat the oil in large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, stirring to coat them with oil. Cover tightly, reduce heat to medium low and cook until onions are wilted, about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle sugar over onions and stir in. Increase heat and sauté until onions are well browned, about 12 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon to scrape up onions as they stick to pot. Remove from heat. Scrape the bottom of the pot vigorously to gather up all the browned bits. Stir mustard and thyme into the broth and add to pot. Add the water. Return heat to high and cook until liquid comes to a boil. Reduce the heat, partially cover the pot and simmer until the onions are very soft, 30 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush bread on both sides with remaining olive oil. Grill bread or toast it in 400° F. oven. Set aside to cool. When cool, cut into rough cubes with a sharp, serrated knife.

Place the miso in a small bowl. Gradually stir in about 1/4 cup of the soup, mixing until well blended. Stir the mixture into the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle soup into deep bowls. Sprinkle top with toasted bread cubes. Sprinkle 1 scant tablespoon cheese on top, if using.

Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 124 calories, 5 g. total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat), 17 g. carbohydrate, 4 g. protein, 2 g. dietary fiber, 732 mg. sodium.

“Something Different” is written for the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) by Dana Jacobi, author of The Joy of Soy, and recipe creator for AICR’s Stopping Cancer Before It Starts

AICR offers a Nutrition Hotline (1-800-843-8114) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday-Friday. This free service allows you to ask a registered dietitian questions about diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR is the only major cancer charity focused exclusively on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. It provides a range of education programs that help Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR also supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S. It has provided more than $65 million for research in diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR’s Web address is www.aicr.org. AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.

____________________________________

ARTICLE POSTED APRIL 06, 2004