The BigLittleMeals 2025 Ingredient of the Year is…ta dah…NOT ONIONS, even though Andy is fascinated with them in today’s blog.
I know that in our last blog (2 weeks ago) we nominated our favorite ingredient of the last year, and the choice was easy: Za’atar seasoning. But I’m here to tell you that we’ve already got our pick for 2025, even though the official award ceremony is almost a year away. And the choice? WHITE MISO. And why so early? Well, I’m fascinated with its taste, with it being under-used in U.S. cooking, and with it being so versatile. I don’t believe anything can top it in the year to come.
If you’re wondering what miso is, Epicurious has a good article on the ingredient, but – to simplify a complex history – suffice it to say that this fermented soybean paste probably originated in China or Korea but made it to Japan by the 7th Century. And, of course, it’s Japanese cuisine that has made miso famous. For example, Japanese miso soup is an easily made, nutritious dish, using just 5 ingredients. You can check out the recipe from that same issue of Epicurious. One important thing to remember whenever you’re using miso is that if you boil the miso, you’ll lose some of its health benefits, since miso is loaded with probiotics that are killed when that temperature is reached.
Personally, I favor miso with butter. That doesn’t surprise anyone who knows me, since I’ve made it clear that my last “dinner” on earth should be the beginnings of cookie dough – butter, sugar, and vanilla creamed together! But, honestly, butter and miso are an amazing combo. You can vary the proportions according to your taste, but an easy place to start is just a ratio of 1:1. For example, as in today’s recipe, 4T white miso mixed with 4T butter.
Our recipe today is hardly a recipe; it’s more of a list of suggestions for your miso/butter mixture. But the list could go on and on. You’ve got to track some miso down and try it, if it’s not already on your shopping list. Of course, onions are almost always on my shopping list, even though I wouldn’t ever pick onions as my favorite ingredient, so if you’re looking to combine onions AND miso, Ottolenghi in his cookbook Flavor has a d-lish recipe for a simple onion side dish that uses that yummy miso/butter combo. (FYI: that recipe has 31,000 “likes” on Ottolenghi’s Instagram post.) You could even expand on that recipe and create a riff on a French Onion Soup with Miso. Ottolenghi is my guy! :). Miso is my new fav ingredient!
Here’s what to look for when you’re in the refrigerated section of the market:
Miso Butter
- 4 T white miso
- 4 T butter (softened)
- 1 T rice vinegar (not flavored)
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Combine miso, butter, vinegar, and pepper in a small bowl and mix with a fork until well combined. Store in the refrigerator.
Uses:
- Massage bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs on both sides with the miso mixture; roast for about 35 minutes at 425 degrees.
- Saute spinach, chopped leeks, and peas in 1T olive oil, then stir in a little of the miso mixture and mix well, adding a bit of water if needed.
- Top a baked Japanese sweet potato with a dollop of the miso mixture.
- Put a bit of miso mixture on top of cooked carrots or asparagus before serving.
- Cook 16 oz linguine or spaghetti until al dente; reserve 1/2 c of the pasta water; whisk the miso mixture into the hot pasta water and then add that to the cooked pasta. Top with grated parmesan cheese.
- Smear the miso mixture over salmon before grilling.