miso butter

I blame Annabel Crabb* for my new (rare) dairy addiction. Patting this beauty into a log isn't pretty but it sure is tasty.

Miso butter

1 part butter (salted or unsalted it’s up to you)

2/3 – 1 part miso (I prefer darker miso e.g. hatcho or shiro)

1 spring onion (mostly white part), minced

1 – 3 cloves garlic, minced

(I’ve never added lime juice, maybe next time?*)

Chop the butter into cubes and put into a bowl. Sit that inside another bowl with a couple of centimetres of boiling water. In the couple of minutes it takes to get it a bit melted (technically I’d say the ideal meltage is a quarter) mince the spring onion and garlic. Start with one of each for your first batch. Before the butter melts too much add the miso and either mash together by hand or throw into a mini food processor for a couple of quick whizzes until combined.

Dollop onto a piece of cling film and “pat into a log”. Don’t worry if you over did the melting, it will firm up in the fridge.

Store in the refrigerator, technically it should be ok for a couple of months but once tried, its addictive!

How much miso? It depends on what miso you use and how salty you like your food. If you’re a vegemite fan go the full equal quantities but if you’re not a fan of super salty food start as little as half as much miso to butter, and taste as you blend.

My favourite uses:

• Tossed through steamed asparagus.
• On toast (tasted even better that vegemite and butter), cut into soldiers and dipped into a boiled egg.
• On toast with grilled tomatoes or avocado.
• A little stirred through scrambled eggs just before they set.
• Big dollop on an old-fashioned jacket potato.
• With corn on the cob.

* From her excellent podcast with Leigh Sales. Annabel's recipe verbatim.

“Take half a block of butter, cut the half in half and melt one of the halves and just mash up the other. Put 60 gm of miso and 2 cloves of garlic (minced) and a spring onion (minced) and the hard butter in with the melted butter and mash and whip them all together. Then add a squeeze of lime juice. Then pat it into a log.”

Annabel’s favourite uses: Toss through freshly steamed green beans or mushrooms en papillote mushroom cooked in baking paper. 

There's nothing photogenic about a log of brown stuff, so feast your eyes on something I prepared earlier.