Miso and spinach pastries

Every so often I come across a flavour that seems to strike an instant note with my palate. Something I’ve never tried before but suddenly want to be using at every opportunity.

Over the last year Nduja, the spicy, spreadable pork sausage from Southern Italy and Gochujang, the deep red Korean chilli paste have both become regulars in my kitchen. Now it’s the turn of miso

Subtler in taste to the two items mentioned above, this Japanese paste, made from fermented soybeans, has so many different layers of taste to it. I’ve seen salty, sweet, earthy, fruity and savoury mentioned and I do think they are all there. Saltiness is the primary flavour but the aftertaste carries elements of them all.

Miso has always been a staple item in Japanese cuisine and once you start delving into it you quickly discover a fascinating history going back to Neolithic times. While fermented soybeans are always the key ingredient, some versions include rice, barley or seaweed. The colour of miso paste can vary from the pale, classed as white, all the way through to a deep dark red. This will depend on how long the soybeans have been left to ferment during the production of the paste. So far I’ve only tried the white version but I’m keen to try what I’m expecting to be the even more intense flavours of the red.

The first time I used it I made miso & spinach pastries, a bit like a savoury Danish, they tasted wonderful eaten warm just after coming out of the oven and the order is already in from the rest of the house for some more. If you fancy trying them I’ve put the recipe at the bottom of this post. They left me with about half a jar, just enough to make Ottolenghi’s miso, tomato & oregano pasta 

Miso is clearly my new frequency illusion, I’m seeing recipes using it everywhere. I’ve even discovered you can use it in desserts and that miso ice cream is a thing. Obviously I need to get a bigger jar next time.

This recipe makes twelve pastries. If that’s more than you need, just half everything and make a smaller batch.

Ingredients

• 250g Spinach
• 6 Spring onions
• 4tbsp white miso paste
• 300g puff pastry 
• 1 egg – beaten for brushing

Method

• Wash the spinach but don’t shake it dry. Put the leaves in a pan over a high heat, cover with a lid and let them cook in their own steam for a couple of minutes. Remove the lid and turn the spinach over. Replace the lid and leave for another two minutes. Drain the wilted leaves in a colander, chop and put them in a mixing bowl.
• Finely slice the spring onions and add them to the chopped spinach. Then add the miso, a little salt & pepper and stir everything together.
• Heat the oven to gas make 6
• Roll the pastry out on a floured board, it should be approximately 32 by 22 cm.
• Spread the spinach mixture over the pastry leaving a small border around the edges.
• Brush the borders with  beaten egg and then starting at one of the shorter edges of the pastry roll it up so that the filling is in the centre. Similar to making a Swiss roll.
• Once you done this brush the outside of the roll with more of the beaten egg and then slice it into 12.
• Place the slices on a lined baking tray and bake for 25 minutes.