Tomato Avocado Miso Pasta
Tomato. Avocado. Miso. Pasta. That's right, I put all those things in one bowl. YES I DID. And it was goooooood. And you know what, (kinda) good FOR you too. If there was such a thing as a pasta cleanse (there isn't, I checked), pretty sure this would be on the programme, just like
.
It's the perfect dish for wake-up-late days when you need something comforting, but you also can't bear the thought of dealing with yourself after another plate of french toast, bacon, maple syrup, corn fritters, home fries... Wait, what were we talking about again? Oh yes, healthy and and comforting.
It's a pretty flexible recipe, as are most pasta recipes, really. Chop the avocado and tomato into smaller pieces and squish them together if you want something more saucy. In this form, they are almost salad-like, sitting prettily atop their bed of spaghetti. The sauce is a savoury and sweet concoction of miso, onions, mirin and a bunch of other lovelies.
Take a bowl of this goodness outside, sit in the sun, recover from any excesses of nights before, and enjoy.
Tomato Avocado and Miso Pasta
Serves two (just halve everything for one)
Enough spaghetti for two (around 200-240g dried spaghetti)
1 avocado
12-15 cherry tomatoes
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter (or oil, if you're anti-butter, but don't be!)
2 tablespoons miso paste mixed with 2 tablespoons water (I used the lighter awase miso for this)
1 tablespoon mirin
Dice the cherry tomatoes and avocado into your desired size and shape - the tomatoes are quartered in this incarnation.
Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions in salted water. We're going to finish the pasta in the sauce, so it shouldn't be too soft. Remember to save a cupful of the pasta cooking water before draining it!
In the meantime, heat up the butter (or oil) in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Saute the onion or shallot until translucent, and add in the garlic. Fry for a few seconds more before adding the miso paste and mirin.
Stir everything together for 2 minutes. Make sure the pan doesn't get too dry - add a touch more water if it needs it. Take it off the heat until the pasta is ready.
Drain the pasta when it's al dente. Add it to the pan with the miso sauce and stir together over a medium heat for a minute more, adding pasta water a tablespoon at a time, to create a silky sauce - but careful not to overdo it so it doesn't get watery!
Transfer the pasta to a bowl, top with the prepared avocado and tomato and finish with sesame seeds and/or seaweed strips.