Umami — courtesy of white miso paste — is the literal secret sauce in this toasty-meets-creamy dish.
Though the recipe contains just five ingredients, miso’s unique flavor and the concentrated intensity of caramelized onions take it to new heights.
Miso means “pleasant savory taste” and is often referred to as the “fifth taste,” joining the pillars of sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Foods with umami are high in glutamate, an amino acid, and have a complex, meaty and savory flavor profile. Examples of umami-flavored foods are miso, seaweed, soy sauce, gravy and parmesan cheese.
Even though this pasta recipe contains no cheese, the combination of miso, chicken stock and heavy cream yields an umami-centric sauce. (Learn more about miso in ICE's Plant-Based Culinary Arts program.)
Caramelizing the onions also boosts the dish’s flavor. Caramelization results when sugar interacts with heat, changing its color and flavor. Natural sugar is found in vegetables like onions that can caramelize, get darker and intensify in flavor.
In this recipe, you’ll see the sliced onions evolve as they caramelize, first sweating out and getting tender, then fully softening and changing in color to a rich golden brown. (Learn more about caramelization in ICE's Culinary Arts program).
You probably have most of the ingredients for this pasta in your pantry already; if you need white miso, it can be found fairly easily in Asian markets (and possibly your local grocery store).
Whether you serve this recipe as a main or a side dish, it comes together easily, boasts a satisfying savory flavor, and is guaranteed to impress guests and family alike.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup chicken stock (not low-sodium)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons white miso
- 8 ounces (½ box) dry fettuccine, rigatoni or your favorite pasta
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add sliced onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
- When onions start to soften and color, reduce heat to medium and continue cooking and stirring until they caramelize, about 20 minutes.
- Add chicken stock, heavy cream and miso to onions and bring mixture to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat 5 to 8 minutes, until sauce slightly thickens. (Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper, as desired.)
- In boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. (If you prefer a less thick sauce, add a splash of pasta water to the miso mixture before draining the pasta.)
- Drain pasta and add to pot of sauce, tossing with tongs to coat.
- Serve immediately with a few generous cranks of freshly ground pepper.
