You can use this light and nourishing broth as a base for your soups and stir-fries or as a warm, comforting drink all on its own. Wakame is an edible seaweed and you can usually find it at Asian grocers or your local wholefood or health food store. Wakame is a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron and iodine. The miso provides another amazing element to this broth.

Makes 2 litres (68 fl oz)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Difficulty: Easy

BROTH

10 g (¼ oz) dried wakame*

1 large leek, white part only, finely shredded

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoons fresh turmeric

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 litre (34 fl oz/4 cups) vegetable stock

1 litre (34 fl oz/4 cups) filtered water

3 tablespoons coconut aminos*

1 large beetroot (beet), peeled and thinly sliced

60 g (2 oz/2 cups) flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped

45 g (1½ oz/1 cup) kale or English spinach, chopped

2 tablespoons miso*

Start by placing the dried wakame in a bowl of water to reconstitute it while you prepare the rest of the dish.

In a saucepan, sauté the leek, garlic, ginger, turmeric and celery in a little vegetable stock until soft. Drain the water from the wakame, and add the wakame to the sautéed vegetables along with the rest of the vegetable stock, the filtered water, coconut aminos and beetroot.

Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Add the parsley, kale and miso, stirring well. Continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Strain to separate the broth or serve as a light soup with the veggies.

Alternatively, if you have a slow cooker you can combine all the ingredients and cook for 12 hours or more, adding the greens and miso at the very end.

This recipe was published with permission in Issue 66 of The Art of Healing magazine. It is an extract from Whole by Harriet Birrell published by Hardie Grant Books. Photographer: © Nikole Ramsay.