8 ounces orecchiette or other short pasta
2 shallots
4-6 garlic cloves
3 medium carrots
¼ cup raw cashews
3 TBL white miso paste
½ cup carrot tops and/or parsley
1 lemon
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup panko
Heat a little olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute
- 2 shallots, rough chopped
- 4-5 garlic cloves, rough chopped
until fragrant and starting to turn lightly golden, but they shouldn’t brown. Add
- 2 heaping cups carrots, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 2 cups water
- ½ tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer for about 15 minutes, until the carrots are fork-tender. Stir in
- 3 TBL white miso paste
The miso doesn’t have to dissolve completely. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
While it’s cooling, start cooking
- 8 ounces orecchiette or other short pasta
in well-salted boiling water. Make a gremolata: Chop together finely (by hand, food processor or mini-chop)
- ½ cup carrot tops and/or ½ cup parsley
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 small garlic clove (center sprout removed if you want it less sharp)
Mix in some olive oil (it should be moist but not runny) and add salt to taste.
Now’s also as good a time as any to brown
- ¼ cup panko
tossing it few a few minutes over medium heat in a small skillet. Set aside.
Spoon the carrot-miso mixture into a blender and blend it until creamy and silky smooth, about 60-90 seconds starting on a low speed then high.
Drain the pasta and toss it with about half of the carrot-miso sauce. Save the other half of the sauce for another day; it freezes well.
Divide into bowls, sprinkle on some toasted panko and top with some gremolata.