Miso fish pot
Katerina A super delicious and super easy one pot meal that still feels special: you just need veggies, miso, and fish (or tofu).
So simple, so tasty!
Sometimes I come across a tasty sounding recipe and make a note of it for later. Sometimes life conspires so that I get to try it out straight away. This week I stumbled over a delicious sounding recipe for 'One Pot Miso Salmon' on the Stonesoup blog. In my head I filed this under 'Miso Fish Pot'. The very next day a customer in our shop brought us an unexpected gift of fish fillets ('just because' - yes, we get seriously lovely customers!). So my mind went straight back to that miso pot recipe - dinner sorted!
This is my version:
- Soften some veggies in olive oil and/or butter (I always add some herbs and spices; here I used parsley and dill from the freezer)
- Add a cup of miso broth (mix miso paste with hot water, add to the pot and simmer for a few minutes)
- Sit the fish fillets on top, let them steam/poach for a few minutes (they are done when the flesh has changed from translucent to opaque)
- Finish with more more herbs on top, and a squeeze of lemon juice (either is optional but really brings the flavours to life)
So delicious! And so very easy! (It took less than 30 minutes to make.) And somehow it still felt like a special meal.
Fancy trying your own version? Here are some of the things that went through my head when re-constructing the recipe to fit what I had to hand:
- Using a mix of olive oil and butter is quite common in Italian cooking. I love leeks cooked in butter and the fish happened to be plaice which is also lovely with butter so I decided to add it. But you don't have to.
- I happened to have leeks, kale and mushrooms to hand - but this will work with any kind of greens! (Tip: keep a bag of frozen peas in the freezer for 'need greens' emergencies). If you want to use root veggies, slice them finely and cook a bit longer until tender.
- I happened to have white miso (another perk of running a food shop), but brown miso is good too: White miso is lighter and sweeter so it fits delicate fish nicely. Brown miso is more gutsy and intense but still very nice to use. Be generous with it, I use a big tablespoon full for a about a cup (tea mug size) of water.
- Btw, miso paste is a magic umami boosting ingredient - absolutely worth having a pot around (and as it is fermented it will keep for ages in the fridge). But if you don't have any miso to hand, you can add umami flavour to the broth with soy sauce.
- You just need enough broth for a good layer of liquid (say a couple of cm) on the bottom to produce the steam to cook the fish - unless you want a more brothy meal, in which case add more!
- Fish: any fish fillet, or pieces of fish are great for this.
- For a vegan version this should work beautifully with a piece of silken tofu. Actually, just the veggies in the miso broth on their own are delicious!
Here is the template to remember:
How to use this recipe template in your everyday cooking?
- Add the template to your favourites list or to your weekly/monthly meal rotation plan.
- Keep in the kitchen: a jar of miso paste, some herbs (dried or in the freezer), a lemon.
- Use the template with anything you have on the day: any greens, any fish fillets or pieces, or silken tofu.
Categories: COOK
