Miso-Butters & Togarashi Seasoning are two of my favorite ways to put a Japanese twist on so many roasted and grilled dishes, I started thinking of other ways to incorporate them into dishes that traditionally require butter, like Chicken Francaise or even Spgahetti Carbonara. So this dish is the result of those two attempts combined into one dish. As always, the dish is gluten-free, dairy-free & refined sugar-free... but I swear, even the pickiest eaters won’t notice what’s missing!
Chef’s Note:
To make the butter you can use melted refined coconut oil, solid avocado oil, ghee or vegan butter, slightly cooled. When I made it I used solid avocado oil.
Also, if you can’t find coconut cream alone, use the solid part from a can of coconut milk. Use the remaining coconut water if necessary to loosen the sauce.
Finally, your proteins will cook the best if you allow them to come to room temperature before you cook them. That’s really how to get the neat crisp and color to the chicken.
(PS- normally there is NEVER cream in carbonara but it was necessary here to balance the umami flavor of the miso.)
Ingredients-
For the Togarashi Chicken:
* 4-6 chicken breasts (not cutlets)
* Olive oil (or other clean oil like coconut or avocado)
* 1-2 tsp Togarashi seasoning
For the Miso Carbonara:
* 1 box of quinoa spaghetti
* 3-4 slices chicken bacon, diced
* 3 egg yolks
* 2 Tbsp melted “butter” of your choice (see note above)
* 1 Tbsp. miso paste, softened with a splash of hot pasta water
* 3 Tbsp. coconut cream
* 1 Tbsp vegan parmesan (Follow Your Heart or Go Veggie)
* Black pepper
* Seasoned dried nori, cut into narrow strips
Directions-
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Pat the chicken breast dry with a paper towel before seasoning them with the Togarashi seasoning & a drizzle of olive oil, rubbing the seasoning into the chicken gently.
3. Place the seasoned breasts on a foil-covered sheet pan and place in the oven.
4. Cook for 25-35 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
5. Optional step: to get a nice golden color & crisp on the chicken, save the last few minutes of cooking time for the broiler. Broil the baked chicken for 3-5 minutes until the breasts have a nice golden color. (But keep the broiling brief... you don’t want to dry out the chicken.)
6. While the chicken is cooking, add the quinoa spaghetti to a pot of salted boiling water.
7. While the spaghetti is boiling, sauté the diced chicken bacon in a deep sided skillet over medium heat. Turn off the stove right before the bacon gets too crispy.
8. While pasta is cooking, in a large bowl, beat three egg yolks with the coconut cream and warm (not hot) melted “butter” (avocado oil or your clean solid oil of choice) in a large bowl.
9. In a small separate bowl, soften the miso with a few splashes of hot pasta water, then whisk the miso into yolk-“butter” mixture.
10. Then add in the vegan parmesan and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Incorporate them well into the yolk-“butter” bowl.
11. Once your spaghetti is about 30 seconds from al dente, transfer it from the pot with some pasta water into the bacon skillet.
12. Toss the spaghetti around in the bacon pan and then quickly transfer pasta, bacon, and bacon pan liquid into the miso-“butter”-egg bowl. Use tongs to toss the spaghetti completely so that every strand is covered with sauce.
13. Finally, plate the pasta with tongs into serving bowls. Add a few generous spoons of extra sauce on top, and then sprinkle with slivers of dried nori, plus more vegan parmesan.
14. Top the pasta with the Togarashi roasted chicken
