Avocado-Miso-Tahini Pasta
Let me tell you the story of the Avocado-Miso-Tahini Pasta… have you ever been so obsessed with a food that you’ve had it multiple days in a row? That when it comes time to eat, you think to yourself, yeah, that’s what I’ll have. Even though you’ve had it over and over again? That you’re a little afraid your family is going to start telling you to stop serving that dish?
Yeah, that’s this Avocado-Miso-Tahini Pasta for me. The first time I had it I fell in love. Though I knew I wanted to change the original recipe a bit. It was delish from the get-go, but I thought the veggies overpowered the sauce. And, I knew I wanted to make it a few times to see what made it tick. What could I do differently? Could I improve it?
Well, after making it several times, changing a little bit of this or a smidgen of that, I think I got it! The addition of the avocado makes it silky, creamy, and simply luscious. The garlic doesn’t need to be sautéed; the extra bite that the raw garlic gives is perfect. The miso has a great creamy quality, and the tahini adds enough nuttiness to round it all out. (See, I told you I’d give you more ways to use that jar of tahini.)
Avocado-Miso-Tahini Pasta with zucchini, broccoli, and peas
Recipe Notes:
This sauce is really easy to make, and can be made while the pasta cooks. Which makes it perfect for a weeknight meal. I think serving just the sauce and pasta (without any veggies) is the way to truly make it shine. But, I can see how simple pasta and sauce can seem like a little less than a meal, so I added the veggies, but if you really want a taste of pasta nirvana, serve it sans veggies.
I debated about what to call this pasta sauce. Awesome pasta. Pasta with awesome sauce. Freakin-tasty-yummy-goodness. Or, with the simple and descriptive Avocado-Miso-Tahini Sauce. Or maybe vegan creamy Alfredo sauce.
I think that the name “Avocado-Miso-Tahini Sauce” is almost too descriptive, because it doesn’t really taste like any of these individual items. It’s more than the sum of its parts. “Vegan Alfredo” seems so lacking in descriptions; what is that? But, the sauce is creamy without any cream. It is vegan. And, it reminds me of Alfredo sauce. “Awesome Pasta” may also suffer from a lack of true description. I’m still on the fence about the name, but I figured I’d go with the simple descriptive name.
To make the sauce, thin it with the reserved pasta cooking liquid. I like it to be the consistency of heavy cream. A thick liquid that can easily coat the pasta. I usually add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. But feel free to mess around with it making to thicker by adding less water, and thinner by adding more water. You could also leave the avocado a little chunky so that you can see it in the sauce.
I like the dish best with regular white pasta, but it’s good with whole wheat pasta as well. And, you could certainly serve it with gluten-free pasta if you so desire (I haven’t tried that).
So, with that, I give you, my current obsession…
Avocado-Miso-Tahini Pasta Recipe:
Pasta with Avocado-Miso-Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti or linguine noodles
- 1 tablespoon tahini paste
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic pressed or minced
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- ½ avocado
- 1 cup pasta cooking water reserved
- 1/3 cup broccoli florets steamed
- ½ cup frozen peas defrosted
- 1 small zucchini julienned
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- In a small bowl, mix the tahini, oil, garlic, and miso until smooth and well combined. When the pasta is almost done cooking, add the avocado to the miso mixture, smashing the avocado until smooth.
- Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking water.
- Add the pasta cooking water 2 tablespoons at a time to the avocado-miso mixture. Stir well after each addition of water, the sauce will be thick at first. Continue to add pasta water until the desired consistency is reached.
- Add the pasta, veggies, and sauce to a large serving bowl. Toss lightly to combine. Serve immediately, and enjoy!
Adrienne says
June 8, 2012 at 9:16 amThis sounds delicious! But…do you have any suggestions for what might be a good replacement for the avocado? No one in the house likes avos.
BTW, my sister swears by quinoa pasta for her gluten-free kids. She found it to be the best texture and flavor of the gluten-free pastas.
Debi says
June 8, 2012 at 9:59 amYou can simply leave the avocado out if you wish. The dish is still good, it just isn’t as creamy.
I’d recommend using the avo though, as you really don’t taste it. And, right now, the small ones at the store are only like .99 cents (or less).
If you do try it w/o the avo, maybe increase the oil by another tablespoon to increase the creaminess. I also thought of trying to puree some white beans (maybe about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of white beans). Try adding that instead of the avo. It would be creamy and would increase the protein content.
Let me know if you try that! 🙂
Deirdre says
June 8, 2012 at 6:07 pmThis is exactly the kind of food I’ve been craving, a light version of favorites! Can’t go wrong with avocado and great protein content. Can’t wait to try! Thank you!! Also hi from mom on a time out hop.
Katherine Corrigan says
June 11, 2012 at 5:06 amIt may quickly become my obsession too . I love the addition of the avocado!Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. Sorry I’m a little late in saying thank you xo
Julie@teachinggoodeaters.com says
June 27, 2012 at 12:30 pmYum! I’ve been pretty obsessed with a really basic avocado pasta sauce (avocado, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic) and this one sounds like it would really kick it up a notch! 🙂 I second the comment above about quinoa pasta- I had some that was in a spiral shape– it had a little bit of a nutty taste and with my avocado sauce it is heavenly so I’m sure you’d love it with this!
Thanks so much for linking up to Food Adventure Friday- I had lost track of your blog and am so happy to find it again!
Carole says
November 15, 2012 at 12:48 pmHi there. The current Food on Friday is all about pasta and noodles! So it would be great if you linked this in. This is the link . Have a good week.
Carole says
November 15, 2012 at 3:32 pmThanks for linking in to Food on Friday: Pasta and Noodles. We are getting a fantastic collection of all things pasta and noodles.
I am now signed up to follow you on Google Reader. A follow back to Carole’s Chatter would be wonderful – or are you already following? Cheers
Monica says
March 4, 2013 at 10:08 amWow, this was amazing! Made this while my vegetarian mom was out visiting, and had to send her home with the recipe. The sauce on its own tastes a little strange and salty, but when we mixed it into the pasta it was magically delicious! Thank you!
Debi says
March 4, 2013 at 12:11 pmMagically delicious! That cracks me up! I’m so glad you liked it!! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
Carli says
May 26, 2014 at 9:13 amI have to say I was skeptical, even more so when I tasted the sauce on its own, but with the vegetables it is a delicious and beautiful dish. I think it would be even better with a liiiiitle bit of lemon juice.
Culinary Ginger says
February 6, 2015 at 10:38 amWhat a delicious pasta dish, I have to try this.
Laurel says
April 4, 2019 at 11:44 pmThanks for the inspiration. I loosely followed the sauce instructions and served it over pasta with sautéed asparagus, smoked tofu, shredded carrots and topped with sesame seeds. It was delicious!