Mushroom Ginger Miso Soup

One of my former roommates and enduring friends is a foodblogger and a wonderful cook.  I've tried a few of her recipes over the last year or so, but since we've switched to a mostly plant-based diet, a lot of her recipes are out of my food range.  But this week, on facebook, she posted this DIVINE recipe that was basically vegan, if you leave out the optional fish sauce (which I did).  Oh my yum!  It's not particularly pretty, so I didn't take any pictures.  But if you like mushrooms and ginger, give this one a try.

Mushroom Ginger Miso Soup
In a five-quart stock pot, saute until tender in a couple tablespoons of olive oil:
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 large red pepper, seeds and veins removed, coarsely chopped (or use 1/2 large sweet pepper plus a couple hot peppers if you like it spicy!)
1 lb. white or brown mushrooms, sliced

Add 2 quarts vegetable stock and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Blend with stick blender until smooth or smooth-ish.

In another pan, saute slowly until tender in a generous tablespoon of olive oil:
8 oz. "exotic" mushrooms (oyster, chanterelle, shiitake, etc.)
2 T. minced garlic
2 T. freshly grated ginger

Deglaze the saute pan with the juice of one small lime (or lemon).  Add this mixture to the blended soup along with 2 tsp. Thai fish sauce (optional!  not vegan), 2 T miso and (if you didn't use any hot peppers in the initial saute) perhaps a squirt of sriracha hot sauce to taste.  Garnish with cilantro leaves and sliced scallions before serving.  Serve it with some warm, crusty bread.

And a quick note, my first 2/3 of the bowl, I was thinking, "This is good, but meh... I dunno."  But the last 1/3 of the bowl was REALLY TASTY!  So - let those flavors marinate a little bit.  It just got better over the next 2 days of leftovers.  Let me know what you think!