Garlic miso bucatini

This dinner is DREAMY, and for many reasons. First of all, the flavor: if you haven’t cooked with miso before, you’re missing out! But this is a great dish to get you started. Miso paste is made from fermented soybeans, and while that might not sound incredible on its own, the result is a lightly sweet and salty combination that yields deep umami - SAVORY - flavor that keeps you coming back for more, and more, and more bites. This dish also rocks because it only take 6 main ingredients and 15 minutes to come together. It’s vegetarian as is, but that doesn’t mean you can’t top this pasta with seared shrimp or scallops (that’d really be delicious). And while I do think bucatini totally rocks, you can sub for other pasta varieties or noodles. Weeknight eating does not have to be boring, so I hope I can continue to offer fun and simple recipes that break you from any dinner rut you might be stuck in!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Level: Easy

Ingredients - serves 4

  • 1 pound of bucatini

  • 4 cloves of minced garlic

  • 1 small shallot, minced

  • 2 tbsp. butter

  • 1/4 cup white miso paste

  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan

  • Optional: crushed red pepper, black sesame seeds

 

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (make sure you salt your pasta water). Add all of the bucatini until thoroughly cooked as package describes, around 8-10 minutes. Before you drain the pasta, be sure to pull out about 1 cup of that starchy pasta water. This is IMPORTANT for the sauce!

  2. While the pasta cooks, make the sauce. Be sure the garlic and shallot are minced. Use a large skillet and melt the butter over medium heat. Once just melted, add the garlic and shallot and sauté for a minute or two until softened and fragrant.

  3. Add the 1/4 cup of miso paste to the skillet as well as the 1 cup of starchy pasta water. Whisk together until completely combined and thickened up.

  4. Once simmering throughout, add the grated parmesan. Immediately stir/whisk vigorously to create a savory sauce with the parmesan completely melted in.

  5. Immediately add the bucatini (don’t let it sit too long in the colander after draining. If it’s been awhile, keep rinsing so it doesn’t stick together). Turn the heat off or to low and toss the pasta in with the sauce (tongs are the best tool for this). Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper and black sesame seeds. Serve right away while it’s creamy and hot!