This classic Japanese dish such as many classic dishes do has many variations, traditionally made with sweet white miso but can also be made with standard white or red miso with the addition of a little brown sugar, whichever you use you will love this flavourful, umami laden hearty dish.
Nasu Dengaku – Sweet miso glazed aubergine
Parmesan and Miso Cabbage rice
This recipe was put together as a result of reading an article about a 5 ingredient miso, parmesan spaghetti recipe and the lemon, black pepper, pecorino and cabbage rice recipe by Sabrina Ghayour, a favourite cookbook chef of mine, from her vegetarian book Bazaar. I have used a white soya miso here, white barley miso or indeed any miso of choice would work well, you’ll get the same flavour just a different coloured end result, but who cares about the colour when it tastes so good.
Miso pickled mushrooms
This recipe is adapted from a book called ‘Ferment pickle dry’, I have made these many times, the recipe is very flexible and adaptable and can be made to suit your taste palate. These are as the book states a crossover between Japanese miso-pickling and European vinegar-pickling. You can eat them as an accompaniment to a cocktail, as part of a Asian inspired feast, an addition to salads or whenever you simply want salty, spicy, sweet, acidic umami party in the mouth and don’t waste the liquid, it’s great to use as a dressing.
Roast celeriac and king oyster mushroom salad with halloumi and walnut pesto
Salads aren’t just for lazy summer days, enjoy this hearty bold autumnal salad either as a small starter, side or indeed as a stunning vegetarian main. The idea for this ensemble is from dirt candy, a vegetarian cookbook from a vegetarian restaurant in New York. There are a number of elements to building this salad so preparation is key to pulling it all together at the end and you need to be very good at multi tasking so read the instructions first.
Boozy luxurious mushrooms on toast
Earthy thyme and oyster mushrooms, combined with sweet marsala and crème fraiche come together for an indulgent treat. I’ve also added dried morels here but you can easily exchange these for porcini or other dried wild mushrooms or leave them out completely and use all fresh mushrooms, the ingredients here are very flexible, choose your booze and choose your indulgence and away you go.
Oyster mushroom pakoras
Pakora’s are essentially fritters deep fried in oil, they can be made with one vegetable or a mixture so don’t be afraid to experiment not only with the vegetable but the spices involved in the batter. This is a small batch of batter, perfect for a starter for two, it can easily be doubled, I’ve used large oyster mushrooms here but you could use any mushroom, sliced king oyster, portabella and even whole button mushrooms.
Spicy hot and sour mushroom soup
There are as many version of hot and sour soup across Asia as there are nourishing chicken soup across Europe, once you master the base of this soup you can make it your own using whatever vegetables, meats or fish as you like, here I’ve used white and brown Shimeji mushrooms, also known as beech mushrooms but you can use any mushroom of your choice and make it as spicy or tame as you prefer.
Turkish pepper, black-eyed bean and quails egg salad with za’atar
Summer isn’t over until the salad days end. This is a very simple salad to make no longer than the time it takes to boil and egg or two, a classic from Turkish Cuisine, can be a simple side salad or a main on it’s own. I’ve used quails eggs here but you can use regular chicken eggs and if you can’t get Turkish peppers, regular peppers are absolutely fine.
Brie and caramelised onion galette
Who doesn’t like a baked cheese? There is nothing nicer to indulge in than rivers of rich earthy brie cheese oozing out of buttery pastry melting together with sweet caramelised onions and then moped up with crusty bread, serve on it’s own or with some sharp tangy pickles on the side.
Peperonata Agrodolce
There are many versions of these sweet and sour peppers, rather than olives you could use capers, toasted pine nuts or even some raisins stewed at the same time as the peppers so they soak up the juices and become nice and plump. This is a great side dish to go with grilled fish or indeed with cold meats and crusty bread, I’ve even been known to stir some through some cooked cold pasta for lunch.