Miso, but make it dessert.
The versatile Japanese ingredient you need to add to your fridge, stat!
What I’m Thinking About:
❤️ February is Black History Month. One thing we can do this month (and all year round!) is support Black businesses, creatives, and chefs. I just bought Jubilee by Tony Tipton-Martin, which won the James Beard award for Best American Cookbook in 2020 and can’t wait to dive in. I’ve also heard great things from my friend Summers about Klancy Miller’s For the Culture and am adding it to the list!
🐚 It seems like everyone’s making stuffed shells these days. Maybe it’s time I get on board… Which should I make: 1, 2 or 3?
🔪 Pretty sure if you looked up “effortlessly cool” in the dictionary, you’d find a picture of Kristen Kish. Padma left big shoes to fill, but I can’t wait to see Kristen host Top Chef in less than a month!
🍕 Really appreciated these words from the Paulie Gee’s owner, TJ Gibbs. Having worked in the service industry back in the day, I’ve had a glimpse at the challenges and costs this industry faces regularly. Paulie Gees, I’ll love and support you for forever!
🐟 Fairly certain I need these Sardine chopstick rests.
What I Made with Miso:
I recently made Molly Baz’s Salty Malty Miso Banoffee Trifle (say that 5 times fast) from her cookbook, More is More, and can confirm it’ll become a go-to dessert. I’m a sucker for any type of riff on banana pudding and the addition of miso caught my eye. So what exactly is miso? It’s a staple in Japanese cooking and is fermented soybean paste. Now, I know fermented soybean paste doesn’t scream “use this in a dessert!” but trust me, it works.
To make this, I layered a homemade toffee laced with miso with layers of grape-nuts toasted in malted milk powder and butter, and bananas. Oh, and did I mention the sour cream and malted milk infused whipped cream? *Chefs kiss*. The miso added a salty, tanginess to the toffee and took a typical banoffee trifle to a whole other dimension. That, in addition to the malted milk powder which gave a cereal-milk like flavor to the whipped cream and crunchy grape-nuts made this a home run.
If you don’t already have miso in your fridge, I promise there are so many uses beyond this dessert. Something as simple as this cozy miso soup or this miso sesame dressing that is so good I could literally drink it. I also have this miso butter pastina bookmarked. If you already have miso in your fridge but have never ventured into using it in desserts, please give it a go. I’ve got my eye on Molly’s Miso Apple Tart and these Brown Butter Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies.
A few notes:
You can find miso in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, usually near the tofu.
I used white miso for the recipe because that’s what I had on hand, but you could use either white or red.
Malted milk powder was harder to find than Molly had made it sound, but every bit worth it. Grateful for the Target app which showed me the exact stores that had it in stock and can’t wait to use it in other recipes!
What’s on Deck:
I’m currently in Whistler skiing for the week. Each time my family takes a ski trip, my mom makes cheese fondue one night. Next week, I’ll be sharing the recipe, the most dippable foods and our favorite aprés eats!
