nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Miso Nutty 2: The Dinner

douglas_bd

What do you do when you have a new ingredient and you're not sure how long it will last, and as far as you can tell, no one has ever worked with before, or if they are, their not talking (or at least not posting anywhere a google search can pull up)? My Almond Miso experiment was tasting good, and I wasn't sure when rancidity might set in, so I decided to take action. 6 Courses all featuring Almond Miso in some way shape or form. Somewhat seasonal in nature, based on what I saw in the market that morning, but I didn't get too hung up on it either. Not a lot of forward planning on this. Decided the night before I wanted to do something with the miso, and pulled it all together that next day. Here we go.

Course 1: Miso Soup.

In this case Almond Miso soup. I built this soup up in layers. The base was Apple Cider that had been reduced to a thick syrup. That was topped with some flash Pickled Apple Dice. To that I added some fresh Apple Slices and Apple Blossoms. The broth was warmed Almond Milk, seasoned with the Almond Miso. It was finished with drops of fresh Tarragon Oil.

Course 2: Foie Gras

Seared sliced Foie, topped with a Mustard of Almond Miso and Pickled Mustard Seeds, and finished with a drizzle of Honey.

Course 3: Fennel and Rhubarb

Roasted Fennel over Rhubarb Compote, Topped with Almond Miso Chimichurri and Fennel Fronds

Course 4: Asparagus

Sous Vide Asparagus Spears in Almond Miso Butter and Lemon with Nori

Course 5: Morels

Sauteed Morels, Bacon and Ramps with Almond Miso and White Wine reduction. Topped with 63C Egg and Ramp Greens.

Course 6: Almond Joy

Coconut Almond Sponge Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream and Burnt Almond Miso Butterscotch

Find more posts tagged with

What’s for Dinner

Comments

tangma27

What does the almond miso taste like?

douglas_bd

Hard to describe. It's primarily got a warm toasted profile, savory umami flavors, definitely salty, a bit sweet or perhaps just a lack of the bitterness that I expected it could have. It still has some texture from the almonds, and in certain dishes that stood out and the nutty flavor came through pretty strong, though that could have been more a result of the texture in those dishes. It paired well with pickled items.

It worked really well in the first dish with the pickled apple and cider caramel. The broth on it's own wasn't quite there, but within the dish, the flavors all played really well together.

I also thought that the mixture of the miso and pickled mustard seeds was killer. Just wish I done a better job on searing the foie as it was a bit over. Overall though, those flavors with that bit of honey may have been the best combination.

The fennel and rhubarb was just a tad out of balance. The miso chimichurri (almond miso, parsley, olive oil, red pepper) was delicious on it's own, but got lost with the rhubarb. I think there's a lot of promise in the combination though. I'd plate less rhubarb next time, thin out the chimichurri a bit and shave some fresh fennel in addition to the roasted slice.

The asparagus was my least favorite of the night. The miso and nori just did not play well together, and the addition of lemon just served to highlight that. A shame, because it was really good asparagus.

The morels were really delicious, but honestly, the miso didn't add anything to the dish. It was right up to the edge of being salty (with the bacon and miso), and the miso brought a peanut note to the dish that didn't quite fit. You could have easily left it out. The egg was really the star of this dish for me though. So I was happy with it.

And despite the sloppy plating, dessert was pretty dang delicious. The miso butterscotch flavor was awesome, and I preferred it with the almond miso to when I've used a traditional miso.

tangma27

Thank you so much for this! Honey, foie, and almond miso sounds really good even though I have no idea what almond miso tastes like. I think I'll give it a go sometime! Or perhaps use pistachios or soemthing