Miso Pasta
It’s hard to even think about, but Christmas is just one month away and 2023 is right around the corner.
Where did the year even go? Is it just me, or does time seem to go faster as you age?
We are deep into Vancouver fall. It’s raining buckets outside and it’s cold and miserable. I have invites to about a thousand Christmas-related things. Despite COVID, we are back to pre-pan times, it would appear.
Busy evenings and cold nights means I don’t have a ton of time to make dinner, and I want something comforting and satisfying. That pretty much always means pasta, which is, for me, the ultimate comfort food.
The thing I love the most about Italian cooking is how simple it can be, and how delicious. Just a few simple ingredients can transform into a really excellent, tasty dinner.
This Miso Pasta is the perfect example. Miso to me is so comforting. Think about when you go to a sushi restaurant and order a big bowl of it before your sushi comes. Sipping on hot soup is just the coziest. Miso is packed with umami, so a little bit of it goes a long way and brings loads of flavour.
You might not think about pairing a Japanese ingredient (miso) with an Italian ingredient (pasta) but all cultures have noodles and it works really well together.
Garnish your Miso Pasta at the end with furikake, which is a Japanese spice mix that contains seaweed and sesame seeds. It works really well! Just a note: many versions of this use bonito flakes, which is dried fish, so check the label and look for a vegan one if you are vegan. I used a local vegan version of it called Sea Spice from Kove Ocean. I used Violife Vegan Parm for the cheese here.
To make this more hearty, add some sauteed mushrooms to the sauce; shiitakes especially would work well with this.
Miso Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 oz long skinny pasta, like spaghetti, bucatini or linguini
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tbsp miso paste
- 1/4 cup grated parm
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
- furikake for garnish I used Kove Ocean Original Sea Spice
Instructions
- Bring a large, salted pot of water to boil.
- Add the pasta and stir well to prevent it sticking to each other. Stir occasionally while the pasta cooks, about 9 minutes.
- Drain the pasta but reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.
- In the same pot, melt the vegan butter and the miso paste together, then add 3/4 cup of the cooking water, whisking until it's smooth.
- Toss the pasta back into the pot and toss well with the sauce.
- Add the parmesan (use vegan parm if you want it to be vegan, otherwise you can use regular) & nooch (if using), and toss some more until the cheese is melted. You can add additional pasta water if it gets too thick.
- Plate the pasta, and garnish with additional grated parm, freshly cracked pepper and furikake.
Video
@findbex Just a few simple pantry ingredients are needed to make thus Miso Pasta. Loads of umami, kind of an Itslian/Japanese fusion thing 👍🏻 Link to full recipe in bio! #pasta #easyvegan #easyveganrecipes #miso #plantbased #lunch #dinner #hangry #foodblogger #easymeals #5ingredient ♬ healthy food - cooking