This pasta recipe is all about the umami. That fifth flavor that is a bit salty and a bit sour, and mostly is simply umami. There’s no other way to describe it. This recipe combines pasta with mushrooms, sautéed in vegetable oil, along with a miso-based sauce. The miso is mixed with butter, which greatly refines the strong miso flavors. The result is a delicious miso mushroom pasta, simple to make, special, and one that you just can’t stop eating.

Miso is a seasoning paste that comes from Japanese cuisine. It is (mostly) based on soybeans that are fermented together with koji mushrooms. In Japanese cuisine miso is very common and is used for seasoning almost any type of dish. There are many types of miso, but you can roughly divide them into two – the light miso and the dark miso. The light miso (white / yellow) ferments less time than the dark (red), and therefor less salty. In today’s recipe I use dark miso.

How to make this miso mushroom pasta?

The first step is mixing butter with miso. The butter should be soft (but not liquid), so you should take the butter out of the fridge before starting to prepare the recipe. If it is hot outside – a few minutes will do. However, in the winter, take out the butter about half an hour before start. Beat the butter with the miso until a smooth, uniform mixture is obtained. Set aside.

The next step for the miso mushroom pasta is to sauté the mushrooms. I used portabella mushrooms and shimji. You can use any type of mushrooms that are suitable for sautéing, including button mushrooms. Roughly slice the mushrooms. Grease a wide pan with some vegetable oil (neutral in flavors). Than, sauté the mushrooms for a few minutes while stirring. After a few minutes, add about 3 cloves of crushed garlic and continue to cook for another minute, just until you start to smell the garlic. Transfer the mushrooms from the pan to a separate plate.

Cooking the pasta –

Now you can start cooking the pasta. An important pasta rule is that pasta should be transferred immediately after cooking into an already ready sauce. Pasta can’t wait for the sauce, because it almost certainly will leave us with overcooked pasta. In the recipe I use dry pasta. You can use any type of pasta, just pay attention to the cooking time which varies depending on the type of pasta. Cook the pasta one minute less than the cooking time recommended by the manufacturer. That is because the pasta will continue to be cooked in the sauce for another minute.

The last part of preparing the sauce should take only 3-4 minutes. Time to start cooking the pasta accordingly. You can definitely start the next step about 5 minutes before the end of the pasta’s cooking time, and if you have to wait for the pasta to be ready – lower the flame to minimum heat and wait.

Transfer the miso and butter mixture to the same wide pan in which we sautéed the mushrooms. Add one cup of the pasta’s cooking water to the miso mixture. Mix until a smooth, uniform sauce is obtained. Bring the sauce to a boil and add the mushrooms we sautéed and kept aside. Lower the heat and wait until the cooking time of the pasta is over. Add the cooked pasta into the sauce, stir and continue to cook for another minute. Turn off the heat, stir in chopped green onions and serve immediately.

Looking for more great recipes?

• Wild Rice with Red Cabbage
• Lentils and Roasted Beets Salad
• Sautéed Green Beans with Mushrooms
• Vegan Cherry Crumb Bars

Miso Mushroom Pasta

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 2

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Ingredients:

  

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• 250 gr/ 9-oz dry pasta
• 2 tablespoons red miso paste
• 3 tablespoons soft butter (40 gr / 1½-oz) regular or vegan
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (eg canola, grape seeds)
• 400 gr / 13-oz mushrooms clean and coarsely chopped. use any kind of mushroom suitable for sautéing (button, portabella, shimji, carmine etc.)
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• pinch of salt
• 2-3 springs of green onions chopped
• for cooking the pasta – a pot with plenty of boiling and well-salted water

Instructions:

 

• Place the miso paste and soft butter in a small mixing bowl. Whisk the miso and butter together until a uniform paste is obtained. Keep aside.
• Heat a wide skillet with vegetable oil. Add the chopped mushrooms, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of black pepper, and sauté while stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and continue sautéing, while stirring, for another minute and no more. Transfer the prepared mushrooms to a separate plate and set aside.
• Cook the pasta in a pot with plenty of boiling and well-salted water (at least one teaspoon of salt). The cooking time depends on the pasta you have chosen to use, but in any case the pasta should be cooked one minute less than the cooking time recommended by the manufacturer. Start preparing the next step 5 minutes before the end of the pasta's cooking time.
• Heat a wide pan, the same pan in which we made the mushrooms. Place in it the miso and butter mixture and add one cup of the pasta's cooking water. Mix well until a uniform mixture is obtained and bring to a boil. Add the sautéed mushrooms that we kept aside and mix. If you have to wait until the pasta is ready – then lower to minimum heat and wait until the pasta is done cooking.
• Strain the cooked pasta and transfer it to the prepared miso and mushrooms sauce. Mix well so that all the pasta is covered in the sauce and continue to cook for another 1 minute. Turn off the heat and add chopped green onions. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Did you made this recipe? Let me knowLeave a comment or share it on Instagram and tag #thehappylentils

הפוסט Miso Mushroom Pasta הופיע לראשונה ב-The Happy Lentils.

I received two bags of beets this week. The first one had young and small white beets, the second had inside orange beets that were plump and fresh. All the beets had long stems and abundant leaves, all of them covered with soil, and to me that was very moving. Something about seeing soil on your vegetables automatically makes me believe in their taste and instantly there are like a million things I want to do with them.

I don’t know where you buy your vegetables, but for me it’s something that keeps me busy. For example, I can’t bring myself to buy cheap (and often not that red) tomatoes at the supermarket, just can’t. So I always at the look for good vegetables, and of course that I always find them. I also try to buy vegetables in their season, especially those vegetables that are on the markets for only a short period of time, and I find that it brings me a feeling of festivity to my kitchen and adds tons of interest to the whole cooking process.

This obsession I have with vegetables, or any other ingredient that comes into my kitchen, isn’t just because. It comes from a true belief that when I have love and pride in the food I put on my plate, then not only this food will taste better, it will be more nutritious. Not just from the nutritional values point of view, but in what it does to my soul. And this is without mentioning that when the ingredients are good, so of course dealing with it is much simpler – there is no need for that many spices or any other additions to elevate the taste of the dish, the starting point is already excellent, you just need to allow that vegetable (or any other main ingredient) shine.

One last confession before the recipe – my “plate pride” is severely compromised by my kids’ plates… While I make sure to eat salads of all colors, they prefer the israeli couscous, white bread and all kinds of other beige foods … I personally know lots of kids who eat vegetables, sadly not mine… But I’m not discouraged. I have my methods to make sure they’ll get those vitamins like carefully and meticulously adding zucchini and carrots to a tomato sauce (and of course grinding everything so they won’t notice it), preparing them delicious shakes and smoothies filled with fresh fruit, and in general pretty much willing to try any relevant trick. Once every other day I complain to my mom about their vegetable eating habits, and she smiles while reminding me that I, too, as a child, was a very poor vegetable consumer and look at me today – getting excited about beets covered in soil…

For the beets, that came with soil on them, I had to pair the lentils that for me are like soil. Along with the lentils are fresh roquette leaves, walnuts and feta cheese, seasoned with pomegranate concentrate and balsamic vinegar. The resulting salad is delicious, satisfying, with sweetness and sourness highlighted by both the beets and the pomegranate concentrate. Enjoy

Lentils and Roasted Beets Salas

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Ingredients:

  

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for the roasted beets:

• 3 medium size beets (I used orange beets but you could use any kind of beets)
• 1 cup coarse salt
• some olive oil for oiling the beets

other salad ingredients:

• 1/2 cup black lentils washed and drained (I always soak black lentils for at least a couple of hours)
• 2 cups beet greens coarsely chopped. please divide into stems and leaves
• 3/4 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
• 1 cup roquette (you can use more if you'd like)

for the dressing:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate concentrate
• 1 tablespoon balsamic cream vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste (at least 1/2 teaspoon each)

Instructions:

 

• Roasting beets – Preheat the oven to  400°F/200°C . Rinse the beets well, chop the leaves if any and keep aside. Line a small trey or other dish suitable for the oven in baking paper and pour on it the coarse salt, which will be the bedding for beets. Grease the beets with a little olive oil, place them on the coarse salt and bake in the oven for one and a half to two hours, depending on the size of the beets. At the end of the roasting the beets will be squishy and soft.
• In a small pot, place the black lentils and the beet greens, along with a large amount of water (like pasta). Bring to a boil and cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the soaking time of the lentils. 5 minutes before cooking is finished, add the beet leaves, stir, and continue cooking. Strain the mixture and cool.
• Make the dressing- In a small jar with a lid (or any other utensil) place all the ingredients for the dressing and shake / mix until the dressing is smooth and even.
• Assembling the salad – In a large bowl put the mixture of lentils and beets, walnuts, roquette and feta cheese. Keep some of the walnuts and feta aside, for decoration at the end. Peel the beets, they should be peeled easily, and cut them into large pieces – squares or eighths, and add to the other ingredients. Sprinkle most of the dressing over, keep slightly aside, and gently stir until fully covered.
• Transfer the salad to a serving bowl. Top it with the walnuts and feta cheese that we kept on the side and sprinkled over the rest of the sauce.

Notes:

 

 

• Instead of beet greens you can use kale, without the stems, or spinach.
• The salad can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, and is also fun to eat cold. If preparing in advance, or preparing a large amount, you should of course add the roquette just before serving.

Did you made this recipe? Let me knowLeave a comment or share it on Instagram and tag #thehappylentils

הפוסט Lentils and Roasted Beets Salad הופיע לראשונה ב-The Happy Lentils.

I wanted to dress up.

I didn’t have an actual reason to dress up, there wasn’t any special occasion, it was just another ordinary day and I was on my way to work, but I wanted to. I felt like looking at myself in the mirror and to see myself looking at me back a little more pretty and sparkling than usual. So I stood in front of my closet and gazed at it, like waiting for some dress or a blouse that hid there to jump at me, something that was exactly what I wanted to wear. A kind of non-existing garment, that has everything I wanted in (except from the part of being an actual garment in my closet…), and if not that imaginary garment, then I was looking at least for something I haven’t worn in such a long time that it will feel new. Because I also wanted to be renewed. To dress up festive and to be renewed. It’s a feeling I have lately, but for now I’ll settle for that in a piece of clothing.

So as things tend to get with imaginary clothes.. I didn’t find exactly what I wanted, but I did find something. Truth be said, it wasn’t the most festive garment there is, it was actually my worn and beat up jeans I wear at least 3 times a week…, but I managed to find a blouse I haven’t wore for a really long time because there was never really the right opportunity, and I decided today it is. Not because there was anything special in that day, it really was just like any other ordinary day, but precisely because of that and due to my festive unexplained feeling I had, I felt like the opportunity had come. And just to add to that dress up vibe I had, I put on a pair of socks I once bought and cost me a fortune during an optimistic spree in London, despite the fact (and maybe because of the fact) no one will see them but me.

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I looked at the mirror, and though in any other day I could find many negative things to say on the one reflecting to me in the mirror, I chose to smile and be content, and with that feeling I left the house. And then something happened. This ordinary day that was about to happen got a pinch of sparkle. The way to work was as usual, but then the radio played a song I didn’t hear in a long time and really liked, and that made me feel good. At work, I was complimented at least 3 times on my blouse and I just said “thank you” and smiled and didn’t make any other comment, and when I was making myself my usual salad I eat for lunch, a colleague that was making her own lunch next to me offered me some green onions and basil leaves she had that up-scaled my normal salad. It was still an ordinary day. I still drove my kids to and from school, I still went to the office and spent hours in front of excel sheets, and yet, it felt a bit better than usually. Is it because of what I wore? Of course not. Is it because I decided to dress up festively? Absolutely.

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What a fun salad. Supposedly a simple rice salad, but combined with so many fresh and tasty ingredients that decorate it and gives it the extra sparkle;). Roasted peppers and zucchinis, spiced chickpeas, kalamata olives, feta cheese, mint and parsley- bold flavors mixed together into a celebration in the mouth. You can use the highway on this recipe and buy some of the roasted ingredients, but if you roast everything yourself be sure to make an extra batch and save it in the fridge- those ingredients will happily decorate and upscale any salad or pasta dish you’ll make and even will be great just as a snack. And oh, it’s just a great salad to take to work!

Antipasto Brown Rice Salad
serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 cup of washed and drained brown rice
2 cups water (for the rice cooking)
2 red bell pepper (or store-bought roasted bell peppers)
2 zucchinis (or store-bought roasted zucchini)
1 cup cooked chickpeas (you can use canned, washed)
12 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 bunch of mint (1/2 cup), finely chopped
1 bunch parsley (1/2 cup), finely chopped
5 oz/ 150 gr feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon wine vinegar (red or white)
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt & ground black pepper to taste

for the roasted chickpeas-
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
a pinch of salt & ground black pepper

Instructions:
1. cook the rice- in a heated pot, fry the rice with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over a medium heat for about one minute. Add 2 cups of water, salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring to a boil. cover the pot with a lid and cook on a small heat for about 45 minutes, till all water evaporate. let the lid on for at least extra 5-10 minutes, and let the rice cool to room temperature.
2. Roast the sweet peppers (if you use store-bought skip this part)- preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. lay the peppers on a baking pan lined with parchment paper and roast for about 30 minutes, turn them a couple of times during cooking. Remove from the oven and let them sweat a bit more- either in a ball with plastic wrap on it or a sealed plastic bag, for about 20 minutes. Then, remove the stem and the seeds, and peel the skin (that should be easily done). Cut into wide straps.
3. Roast the zucchini (if you use store-bought skip this part)- preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch (1/2 cm) rounds, toss it with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt and ground pepper. lay it on a baking pan lined with parchment paper in one layer and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, turn them halfway through, till the zucchini starts to brown. Leave to cool.
4. For the spices chickpeas- preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. toss the cooked chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, lat on a baking pan lined with parchment paper in one layer and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool.
5. Combine the salad- in a large mixing ball put all the salad ingredients (rice, roasted peppers and zucchinis, spiced chickpeas, olives, green onions, chopped mint, chopped parsley and crumbled feta cheese), toss with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and freshly ground pepper. Be careful with the salt since the salad has the olives and feta cheese in it.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Notes:
• Add a couple of cucumbers to the salad for an extra crunch and freshness. Of course, once you put in the cucumbers you can’t store the salad.
• The salad can be easily veganize by replacing the feta cheese with tofu.
• You can absolutely roast peppers, zucchinis and chickpeas at once, just pay attention to the different roasting time.

הפוסט Antipasto Brown Rice Salad הופיע לראשונה ב-The Happy Lentils.

The day started just like any other day.

I got myself ready for work, got the kids ready for school, got my lunch packed for work, got Lior’s lunch packed as well, got the kids lunchbox packed for school. I got all my morning routine done and made sure everybody else’s got all their morning routine done and head out the door. The way to drop off the kids to school was just as ordinary as any other day, the goodbye kisses, including the bonus kiss, were normal, the drive to work was ordinary, as well as all the emails that waited for me to go through. Everything was perfectly normal. Just like any other day. It wasn’t until 11 o’clock when I came to set up a work meeting (completely normal) in my schedule that it struck me – the date.  Today is September the 3rd. This date shouldn’t mean anything to anyone but me. This is my half birthday. Today I am exactly 39 and a half years old. In six months, I’m gonna be 40.

I always loved my half birthday. Kind of an extra birthday. On that day, I didn’t love it at all. On that day, my half-birthday reminded me of everything I didn’t accomplished in life, and thought I will by now. My office, my computer with all my Excel files, my clothes, even the salad I brought for lunch, everything suddenly seemed so miserable, such a huge compromise compared to what I was supposed to be by now. After all, I was supposed to work at my dream work, do only what I really love to do and make a good living from it. I was supposed to visit Africa, live a year in Italy, fast for a month in a temple in India (three times I visited India, how did I not mark it?) and swim with dolphins in some white sand beach in some exotic country. I was supposed to learn Spanish, and French, and German. I was already supposed to know how to surf, and do a pastry class in Paris and a road trip across Europe. I was supposed to be this complete mother that always smile and builds with her kids dolls from tree branches we’d picked up on a walk in the woods the day before.

I was supposed to be all these things and here I am, exactly six months before I’m 40, still dreaming all those dreams.

Fast forward to a few days later. Tamar comes to me with her own list. Lior bought her the book “The List for Kids”, which encourages kids to make a list of dreams and shout them out. In number one she wrote “adopt a female puppy”. In number 2 she wrote “an electric organ”. No. 3 “To Visit Romania”, No. 4 “Being a Scientist”. In number 5 she wrote “Captain Underpants No. 5” (she already has Captain Underpants 1,2,3,4 and 6 in the series …), in number 6 she wrote “musical class”. In number 7 she wrote “toys for the dog”. In number 8 she wrote “Building a Time Machine”. The number 9 was left blank. Probably out of lack of attention, but I found it incredibly symbolic and sweet, and in number 10 she wrote “bunk bed with slide”. Just like that, in the simplest way. And there, between her dreams of being a scientist and building a time machine, I found my optimism again. I looked at her list and it seemed to me to be achievable (except perhaps for the time machine, but what do I know). My list is also achievable, and that is even before all the things I have already achieved. Dreams were meant to come true. My dreams too.

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This is the kind of salad you want to have in your repertoire. Tasty, fresh, healthy, keeps fresh for a few days and always receives compliments. It’s a good salad to take to work as well as to a dinner party. The base of the salad are the lentils. I use black lentils (beluga), which hold their form well in cooking and are perfect for salads, but you can also use brown or green lentils. Whenever I cook legumes, no matter what type (lentils, chickpeas, beans ..) I always prepare much more than I need and then freeze the extras for future use (bonus advice- measure and divide the legumes into 1 cup bags).

Lentil Salad with Roasted Pumpkin and Feta Cheese

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Ingredients:

  

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• 3/4 cup black lentils washed and drained (or- 2 cups of cooked black lentils)
• 3 cups pumpkin (sliced in cubes, (350gr/0.75 pounds
• 1 bunch of arugula
• 1/2 cup walnuts roughly chopped
• 100 gr/ 3.5 oz feta cheese crumbled
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/2 cup natural dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons silan )date honey syrup(
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon grounded nutmeg
• salt & grounded black pepper to taste

Instructions:

 

• Cook the lentils- in a suitable pot, place the lentils with a large amount of water (like pasta), without salt. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes. Strain and let the lentils cool down.
• Roasted pumpkin- preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of olive oil with silan, grounded nutmeg, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the pumpkin cubes and stir to full cover, spread the coated pumpkin cubes on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until the pumpkin is golden and soft.
• Assemble the salad- in a large bowl put all the salad ingredients: lentils, roasted pumpkin (if any liquids remain on the oven pan, add them!), chopped walnuts, arugula, crumbled feta cheese, dried cranberries and pomegranate seeds. Keep aside some of the pomegranate seeds and feta for decoration above. Sprinkle above olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and carefully combine. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle above the pomegranate seeds and feta you’ve kept aside. Bon appetit!
• Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days.

Notes:

• Prefer to soak the lentils for a few hours if possible for enhancing the nutritional values.
• You can easily replace the pumpkin with sweet potato or other kind of squash (butternut, acorn..).
• For a vegan version- replace the feta cheese with tofu.
• If prepared in advance, it’s better to make the salad without the arugula, and then add it before serving so the arugula will stay crunchy.

Did you made this recipe? Let me knowLeave a comment or share it on Instagram and tag #thehappylentils

הפוסט Lentil Salad with Roasted Pumpkin and Feta Cheese הופיע לראשונה ב-The Happy Lentils.