Hi! Still here and still talking about what foods we can include in our diet to strengthen our immune systems. I’m super excited to share this recipe with you today! It’s an immune boosting sauce that is crazy tasty, so quick to make and amazingly versatile! It’s like a satay that requires no cooking whatsoever, and it’s served here gado gado style over steamed greens and new potatoes. It’s salty, sweet and sour, and perfectly savoury. It’s made from a combination of prebiotic almond butter and probiotic miso… Say wha? Most people have heard the term probiotic thrown around, especially recently, but what is a prebiotic? Let’s back up a bit!
A probiotic food contains millions of tiny good bacteria/organisms that colonise your body and are beneficial for your gut health, affecting many parts of your body including your immune system and nervous system… Think yoghurt, lacto-fermented pickles like sauerkraut, kombucha, and unpasturised miso. Prebiotics, on the other hand, are foods that produce the ideal environment in your gut for probiotics to thrive… I think so them as food for probiotics. Basically, any part of your food that make it through your digestive tracks (undigested) to your large intestine and colon are considered prebiotics – mainly dietary fibre that is resistant to digestive enzymes. Some great prebiotic foods include onions (cooked and raw), garlic, bananas, asparagus and other green veg, whole grains, beans, and almonds.
So, the great thing about this easy recipe is that it contains both probiotic miso, and prebiotic almond butter and garlic. You’re giving those probiotics a chance at sticking around in your gut by giving them the food to do so. Even better when it’s served over lots of steamed green veggies! This is a super versatile sauce that you can use on sandwiches, with tofu, thinned out to dress greens… You get the idea. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Titbit: Miso, a Japanese fermented soybean paste most commonly used in soup, comes in a variety of colours, grain types and strengths. It’s made by steaming soybeans and a grain, adding a starter called Koaji, then fermenting it in cedar for 18 months – 2 years. This fermentations turns the proteins and carbohydrates in the soybeans and grain into easily digestible amino and fatty acids, and creates living enzymes and good bacteria. The flavour of miso is umami / extremely savoury, and often an acquired taste. The taste can vary from light and sweet (shiro – shortly fermented white rice miso) to dark and rich (hatcho – a dark miso made without grains), with each miso having a different flavour and use in Japanese culture. It’s great for adding flavour depth to plant-based soups, marinades, dressings. I recommend always adding miso incrementally, tasting as you go – you will find you are able to add more light miso to a recipe than dark. When making soup, it’s best to add the miso once you have taken it off the bowl, so you don’t destroy the beneficial enzymes and bacteria. It’s also a good idea to get unpasturised miso where possible, as pasteurisation can also remove a lot of the nutritional benefits.
Also! A quick note to say: you’ve probably noticed Homespun Capers has had a little facelift this week! It’s a bit of a work in progress, but any feedback you have on its usability is greatly appreciated… Hope you like it! xx Liberty
Magic Miso Almond Sauce on Steamed Greens and New Potatoes
Choose any variety of miso that you enjoy. For this recipe I use a unpasturised brown rice miso, as pasteurisation kills some of the beneficial bacteria – buy unpasturised if you can. I find it quite strong at 2 tsp, so I recommend adding to taste. If you have chosen to use a milder white miso (shiro), you will probably be able to add up to a tbls. Choose whatever seasonal greens you like here, and feel free to add some panfried tofu to bulk it up.
Serves 2-4, with leftover sauce.
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
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Magic Miso Almond Sauce on Steamed Greens and New Potatoes
450g new potatoes (chat, baby)
130g | 1/2 cup natural almond butter
2 tsp miso paste, or adjusted to taste ** see note
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
2 tsp finely grated ginger root
1 tsp finely grated tumeric root (or 1/2 tsp turmeric powder)
2 tbls lemon juice
1.5 tsp coconut sugar (optional)
60 ml | 3 tbls water (+ more if needed)
Plenty of ground black pepper
300g green beans (round beans), trimmed
200g broccolini or broccoli, cut into slender pieces
130g snow peas, trimmed
a handful of fresh basil leaves
flaky sea salt, so taste
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Steam your potatoes whole in a covered steamer over boiling water, for 10-15 min, till cooked through.
Meanwhile make the sauce by combining all the ingredients from almond butter to black pepper in a small bowl, stirring till combined. Add more water if you find the sauce too thick (this will depend on your almond butter). Taste and adjust miso and seasoning, if desired, and set aside.
When the potatoes are almost done, add the green beans to the steamer and cook for 1 min. Add the broccoli and cook for a further 2 min. Finally add the snow peas and steam for 30sec – 1 min until bright green. The idea is that the greens will still retain a bit of their bite. Remove from heat and transfer the veg to a platter.
Press the back of the potatoes with a spoon to crush them slightly. Top with the basil leaves, sprinkle with sea salt and drizzle with the miso almond sauce.
Extra sauce will keep airtight refrigerated for up to 5 days. Serve any remaining as a dip with carrot sticks, on sandwiches, tofu, fresh tomato salad, or thinned out with a bit more water to dress salad greens.
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References:
Almonds and Their Skins Show Prebiotic Potential
Prebiotic Potential of Almonds
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