Vegetable Spaghetti with Dashi Recipe
A Fusion of Italian and Japanese Flavors. Vegetable Spaghetti with Dashi is an innovative and flavorful dish that marries the hearty comfort of Italian pasta with the delicate, umami-rich elements of Japanese cuisine.
- Cuisine: Italian/Japanese
Ingredients
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- 2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup carrots, chopped into half moon pieces
- 1 cup onions, chopped ~ 1/4 in. thick
- 1 cup bell pepper, chopped ~ 1/4 in. thick
- 1/2 tsp celery salt, alternatively 1 stalk celery with leaves finely chopped
- 3–4 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 large cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
- 1 – 2 cups konbu shiitake dashi, or konbu dashi; use less if you like thicker sauces, more for thinner sauces
- 1/4 cup miso paste
- 2 cups chickpeas
- 28 oz can whole tomatoes, from Italy if possible
- 1/4 lb. spaghetti per person, cooked until just before al dente
For serving:
Italian parsley, Italian basil, Kaiware daikon (radish sprouts), shiso, green onions, freshly cracked pepper, freshly grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
Instructions
- Prepare your dashi and vegetables first and set aside. Remove shiitake mushrooms and slice ¼ in thick and set aside.
- Cook your pasta in salted water until just before al dente. Reserve about ½ cup pasta water to thin sauce, if desired. Then drain and set aside until sauce is ready.
- Using a large sauté pan on medium high heat, add olive oil, carrots, onions, shiitake, bell pepper, and celery salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes until they start to brown. Stir occasionally for browning to occur. (browning helps to bring out additional flavor).
- After the vegetables begin to brown, add garlic and cook for a minute until fragrant.
- Add in miso paste, all the tomatoes, and 1 cup of dashi. If you’d like a thinner sauce, you can add additional dashi or pasta water at this point.
- Cook sauce for another 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Once sauce has cooked, taste for flavor, you can add a few teaspoons of sugar or honey to sweeten or a bit of salt or soy sauce to make saltier.
- For 1 person, take ¼ lb. cooked spaghetti and return to the pot the noodles were cooking in. Add about 1 generous cup of sauce and cook on low heat for about 30 seconds and then serve!
- Top with desired toppings and enjoy!