Walnut Miso Noodles

YOU GUYS! This Walnut-Miso-Noodle recipe (from whence comes this lovely picture) is easy and delicious. If you can boil water and mix ingredients, you can impress your friends with this delectable dish.

EQUIPMENT:

 

• Pot
• Stove
• Something for straining pasta (unless, like me, you risk your skin and attempt to strain cooked pasta with a lid because you hate cleaning strainers)
• Sharp knife
• Bowl for mixing dressing, possibly also for holding pasta
• Some sort of utensil for mixing dressing
• OPTIONAL:
• Blender or food processor (see below)

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 ounces whole wheat spaghetti or linguini (or soba) 
• 1 small bunch of asparagus, sliced thinly (1/4-inch thick)
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted (or raw, I did raw)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 medium clove garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons mellow white miso paste 
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (confession time! I used red wine vinegar, but it still tasted pretty amazing) 
• 1 teaspoon honey 
• 2 big pinches salt (or to taste) 
• 1/4 cup+ warm water 
• If you want to fancy it up a bit and sprinkle something on top, consider: sliced green onions, chopped chard stems and leaves that have been cooked for a minute or two in a skillet with a bit of olive oil and salt, chopped fresh chives, toasted walnuts

TIME:
30 minutes (for me; it probably doesn't need to take that long, but I'm factoring in the time it takes to boil water and chop some walnuts into large-ish chunks)


DIRECTIONS:

"Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously and cook the pasta per package instructions, being careful to not overcook. About 10 seconds before you are going to drain the noodles, add the asparagus to the pot. Now drain and toss with about 1/2 the walnut-miso dressing - you can make the dressing as you're waiting for the pasta water to come to a boil. To make the dressing, use a food processor, blender or hand blender to puree the walnuts, olive oil, garlic, miso paste, vinegar, and honey. Add the warm water a bit at a time until the dressing is the consistency of a heavy cream. Taste and add salt if you think it needs it. 
Add as much or as little dressing as you like to the noodles and toss well. Arrange in two bowls or on a platter - I finished off this version topped with sliced green onions, a bit of sauteed slivered rainbow chard leaves & chopped stems, a few toasted walnuts, and some chives."

PRO NOTES:

• I made it without the asparagus and, while still delicious, I decided that it would probably look nicer with a little vegetable color
• You'll notice that it mentions a "food processor/blender" in the instructions. Don't freak out! I hand-cut my walnuts and the dressing still tasted nutty. You can cut your nuts as fine as you'd like them, but here's how I did it: cut a nut hemisphere once along its longest axis. Hold that together and make three cuts perpendicular to the first so you have eight pieces.