Advertising, product placement, and general brand promotion are all things that I strive to stay away from on this blog. I understand why other blogs do it and I respect the fact that most have disclaimers associated with those particular posts, but it's just not for me.
Until now. It's taken me a year of periodically subscribing to Chefs Plate before I felt comfortable telling you about it. Essentially what happens is you log into your account and each week you're presented with next week's menu, for 2 or 4 people. You choose however many dishes you'd like, hit order, and BAM the food shows up at your door the following tuesday. The delivery includes a recipe cards with instructions for each meal and exactly all the ingredients you need to complete the recipe, except for oil, salt, and pepper. This is not a pre-made food subscription, it's a make it yourself kind of thing. But it's easy, you can do it! You'll have everything you need, the instructions are easy to follow, and they rate each recipe by difficulty, so you can order easier ones if you're worried. Most recipes take about 35 minutes and most meals for 2 are more than enough for M and I, plus a little extra.
I really enjoy this service. I like the selection of meals, I like how convenient it is, I like the quality of the ingredients, and I like how it occasionally introduces me to new things; like togarashi.
If you're interested, you can use the link below to try 3 free plates. Note that one portion is equal to one plate, so if you order 2 meals for 2 people, that's 4 plates. Also note that if you use the link below for 3 free plates, I in turn get 2 free plates for referring you. win win?
http://www.chefsplate.com/?r=3pc-be68ee1
About the recipe below. I can't get enough of the flavours in this dish and have already started to plan when I'm going to make it again. All I need to do is find some togarashi, which according to M is optional, but to me it's essential. Between the miso sauce and the shiitake mushrooms there is some serious umami happening in this recipe. I also love the texture of the pearl couscous. Note that I found this dish on the salty side, so for those of you who don't cook with a lot of salt this dish could be a little much; but you could always omit the added salt, use low sodium soy, and skip the togarashi?
Japanese Miso Pearls with Roasted Vegetables & Togarashi
1 cup pearl couscous
1 large handful brussels sprouts
2 handfuls shiitake mushrooms
2 medium carrots
2 green onions
1 large shallot
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp white miso pasta
1-2 tsp togarashi
Preheat oven to 450 F.
In a medium pot, add the coconut oil over low heat. Swirl for 1-2 minutes until melted. Using a spatula, remove the coconut oil from the pot into a large bowl.
Peel and quarter the carrots lengthwise. Cut the carrots on a bias, into one inch pieces. Quarter and peel the shallot, keeping the root end intact. Halve and trim the bottoms of the brussels sprouts. Thinly slice the green onions. Remove and discard the shiitake mushroom stems.
In the bowl with the coconut oil, add all the vegetables except the sliced green onions. Toss to coat. On a parchment lined baking sheet, spread the vegetables in an even layer. Season with salt and pepper. Move the sheet into the oven and roast for 18-20 minutes, flipping half way, or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from oven
Meanwhile fill the pot used for the coconut oil with salted water and bring to a boil. When there is about 6 minutes left for the veggies to cook, add the pearl couscous to the boiling water and for cook until tender but still firm; this should take 6 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of cooking water. Strain and return the couscous to the pot.
In a small bowl, add the white miso paste, soy sauce, and reserved cooking water. Whisk to dissolve the miso. Add half of the dressing to the pearl couscous and stir to coat.
Plate the miso pearls, add the roasted vegetables, green onions, and togarashi over top. Drizzle the remaining miso dressing.
Enjoy!