Spectacular Sides: Smoky Miso Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Bonito Flakes & Black Sesame Seeds
A few posts back, I mentioned finding uses for the tub of miso I bought to make that Roasted Vegetable Miso Soup with Broken Brown Rice Noodles and this is my latest. These skillet potatoes really involved a "kitchen sink" approach, where I just kept adding ingredients as I saw them in my fridge and pantry, including the miso paste.
There are many ingredients in the list that may be unfamiliar or not something you have on hand. If you're short on time and a trip to the store is out of the question, then consider some swaps: Honey for maple syrup, balsamic for Chinese black vinegar, sherry for Chinese cooking wine, etc. If you're looking to keep this as a vegetarian side dish, you can omit the bonito flakes, which are dried fish flakes. If not, though, they make for a crispy savory topping, lighter than bread crumbs, and with more umami. They certainly won't overpower the dish, though. Same goes for the sesame seeds.
And as far as the potatoes, any will do, just pick your favorite. My bias towards fingerling is they're usually small enough that you don't need to do much chopping, if any, and have a nice almost buttery smoothness when roasted. I made these as a side for tilapia baked with that sweet soy butter I posted a few days ago. Check it out! They'd also go well with an Asian marinated steak, chicken or other fish.
Smoky Miso Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Bonito Flakes & Black Sesame Seeds
Serves: 2 as a side
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1.5 lb. fingerling potatoes (larger ones cut in half so they're relatively uniform in size)
2 tbsp. white miso paste
2 tbsp. slightly melted butter
1 tsp. light oil (I used a canola-coconut blend)
1 tbsp. Chinese cooking wine (or other light cooking wine)
1 tsp. Chinese black vinegar (or other dark pungent vinegar)
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. maple syrup
a few drops liquid smoke
a few drops Sriracha sauce
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro or cilantro paste (the paste is usually available by the fresh herbs in grocery stores)
1 tbsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tbsp. bonito flakes
1 tbsp. black sesame seeds (any kind will work, they don't have to be black, I just have a large bag in my pantry!)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place potatoes in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients except bonito flakes and sesame seeds. Whisk together until well mixed. If it's too thick to easily coat the potatoes, taste and add a liquid as you see fit. Then pour over the potatoes, stirring to coat.
2. Place potatoes in an oiled cast iron skillet, or a baking sheet, and sprinkle with bonito flakes and sesame seeds. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until they start to brown around the edges.
