Between the sweet richness of butter, and the salty and umami taste of miso, these two pantry staples offer a pretty unbeatable flavor combination. I’ve used it before when cooking hearty greens, but it’s even better when turned into a silky-smooth pasta sauce.
And, while you don’t really need much else to complement these two ingredients, I like to bring in a touch of complexity and heat with sautéed scallions and gochugaru, the Korean red chile flakes used in kimchi. (Gochugaru is sweeter and less spicy than Italian-style red pepper flakes, but you can exchange one for the other, if you prefer.) For protein, I keep the dish vegetarian, with extra-firm tofu, which I like to brown in a little additional butter before making the sauce.
To make the sauce, you’ll need to emulsify melted butter and miso with pasta cooking water. This sounds much more complicated than it actually is — the starch that is left behind in the pasta cooking water will do much of the work for you. All you need is a whisk and a bit of confidence. If the mixture doesn’t smooth out after a minute or so of whisking, simply add a bit more pasta water and keep on whisking. It’ll come together.
Miso Butter Noodles
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