A light and refreshing take on traditional ramen featuring two different mushroom varietals.

Our west coast family sees a lot of damp rainy nights throughout the year and  spring can be no exception.  While we are enjoying a nice warm stretch right now,  coastal living will no doubt bring its share of cloudy, damp days.   And even though I like to bring most of our cooking outdoors in the summer, it's nice to have a light spring soup in your back pocket.

This soup came about from a partnership with Mushrooms Canada.  Last year I competed in their Blend and Extend appetizer challenge which required contestants to come up with flavourful and new ways to combine ground beef and mushrooms.   And my Beef & Shitake Pot Stickers won!  The appetizer was featured during the weekend FBC Conference at the Four Seasons and just knowing that such an esteemed chef as Ned Bell reviewed my work was cherished feedback.

I am happy to work with Mushrooms Canada again this year developing some new recipes that incorporate mushrooms in beautiful and flavourful ways.  Those that know me well, know the irony of this partnership.  I have not always been a fan of the fungi and it has only been recently that I have started to incorporate these gems into our family meal times.

Now while most stocks need to simmer for hours to really develop flavour, the beauty of mushrooms is you can extract a lot of earthy richness for a stock or ramen bowl in a short period of time, making this meal a perfect weeknight dinner. If you or your family are new to mushrooms like we were, just extracting the flavour through a broth is a great way to start.  The bunapi (or enoki) mushrooms were an easy choice because their perfect white shape makes them visually appealing and the nutty taste pairs so well with the soy and miso flavours.

You can find the recipe for this Mushroom Miso Ramen Soup right here on the Mushrooms Canada website, plus a host of other beautiful recipes inspired by mushrooms.

And if you are looking for another spring ramen soup idea that is gluten free, you can check out my Cleansing Ramen Soup recipe here.

Enjoy!