Winter Miso Tasting Dinner with Morel-Miso Chicken and Chocolate-Avocado Pudding

Warm Chestnuts with Sugar Pie Miso Butter

Browning the chestnuts before adding miso butter gives them crisp edges without scorching the fermented paste.

Ingredients

• 8 oz cooked, peeled chestnuts, thawed if frozen
• 2 tsp ghee
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tbsp gluten-free sugar pie squash miso
• 1–2 tsp water

Instructions

1. Pat the chestnuts dry. Mix the softened butter with the sugar pie miso.
2. Heat the ghee in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chestnuts and cook for 5–7 minutes, turning gently, until warmed through and browned in patches.
3. Reduce the heat to low. Add the miso butter and 1 teaspoon water, tossing gently until the chestnuts are glossy. Add another teaspoon water if the coating looks greasy or too thick.
4. Serve immediately, spooning the butter over the chestnuts.

Notes

• Use fully cooked peeled chestnuts, not raw peeled chestnuts, for this timing.

Roasted Morel-Miso Chicken with Green Garlic

Morel miso seasons the meat beneath the skin while a thinner outer coating browns in the oven. Green garlic roasts alongside, becoming sweet and tender in the chicken juices.

Ingredients

• 4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, about 2–2½ lb total
• 2½ tbsp gluten-free morel mushroom miso
• 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 tsp unseasoned rice vinegar
• 4 stalks green garlic, roots and tough dark tops trimmed, thick stalks halved lengthwise
• 2 tbsp water, plus more as needed
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Pat the chicken dry. Mix the morel miso, 2 teaspoons olive oil, rice vinegar, and pepper. Loosen the skin gently and spread most of the mixture over the flesh beneath it; rub a thin film over the outside.
2. Refrigerate for 1–12 hours, uncovered if space allows. Do not add salt before tasting the miso.
3. Heat the oven to 425°F. Arrange the thighs skin-side up in a shallow roasting dish with space between them. Remove any thick clumps of miso from the exposed skin.
4. Roast for 15 minutes. Toss the green garlic with the remaining teaspoon olive oil, tuck it alongside the chicken, and add the water to the bottom of the dish without wetting the skin.
5. Roast another 25–35 minutes, until the skin is browned and the thickest part of each thigh reaches 175–185°F without touching bone. Add a splash of water if the pan juices begin to burn; loosely shield the chicken if its coating darkens too quickly.
6. Rest the chicken for 8 minutes. Serve with the tender green garlic and a little of the defatted pan juices.

Notes

• If the green garlic becomes tender before the chicken is done, lift it out and return it to the warm pan during the rest.
• Use the named specialty misos when available; their sweetness and salt levels vary, so taste each mixture before adding salt.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Honey Squash Miso

A hot roast creates browned faces and tender centers. Adding the squash miso dressing at the end preserves its rounded flavor and avoids burning its sugars.

Ingredients

• 1¼ lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp gluten-free honey squash miso
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tsp unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1–2 tbsp warm water

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the sprouts with the olive oil and spread cut-side down on a metal sheet pan.
2. Roast for 22–28 minutes, until the cut sides are deeply browned and a knife slips into the stems with slight resistance.
3. Whisk the honey squash miso, melted butter, rice vinegar, and 1 tablespoon warm water into a thick but pourable dressing.
4. Toss the hot sprouts with the dressing. Add a little more water if needed to coat them evenly, then taste before adding any salt.
5. Serve promptly so the browned edges retain some texture.

Notes

• Honey squash miso is the named paste here; extra honey is not required. If your batch is unusually salty, start with 1½ tablespoons.

Delicata Squash with Gochujang Glaze and Sesame

Roasting the squash before glazing concentrates its sweetness and browns the flesh. A short final roast sets the spicy glaze without blackening it.

Ingredients

• 2 medium delicata squash, about 1½ lb total
• 1½ tbsp avocado oil
• 1½ tbsp gluten-free gochujang
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Halve the squash lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and cut into ¾-inch-thick crescents, leaving the skin on.
2. Toss with the avocado oil and spread on a sheet pan without crowding. Roast for 20 minutes, turning once.
3. Whisk together the gochujang, maple syrup, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and water.
4. Brush or toss the nearly tender squash with the glaze. Roast another 8–15 minutes, until the glaze clings and the squash is tender with caramelized edges.
5. Scatter with sesame seeds before serving.

Notes

• Taste the glaze before using; gochujang varies considerably in heat and sweetness.

Chocolate-Avocado Pudding with Cacao Nibs

Ripe avocado makes a dense, silky pudding without cooking. Cocoa supplies bitterness, maple syrup rounds it out, and cacao nibs contrast with the smooth texture.

Ingredients

• 2 large ripe avocados, about 300 g flesh
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup unsweetened full-fat coconut milk, plus more as needed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cacao nibs, for serving

Instructions

1. Blend the avocado flesh, cocoa, maple syrup, coconut milk, vanilla, and salt until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the container several times.
2. Add coconut milk a tablespoon at a time only if needed to achieve a thick, spoonable consistency. Taste and adjust sweetness if necessary.
3. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Divide among four small bowls and finish with the kumquat topping and cacao nibs just before serving.

Notes

• Use avocados without brown or stringy patches; their flavor is noticeable in an uncooked pudding.

Caramelized Kumquats with Cacao Nib Miso Brown Butter

Kumquat peel turns fragrant and sweet as the cut surfaces brown. Brown butter and cacao nib miso bridge the tart citrus and dark chocolate with a nutty, salty finish.

Ingredients

• 8 oz kumquats, sliced into thick rounds and seeded
• 1 tsp ghee
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1½ tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp gluten-free cacao nib miso
• 1 tbsp water, plus more as needed

Instructions

1. Pat the sliced kumquats dry. Heat the ghee in a wide skillet over medium-high heat and add the fruit in one layer, working in batches if needed.
2. Sear for about 2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute on the second, until browned in patches but still holding their shape. Transfer to a plate.
3. Lower the heat to medium-low and let the skillet cool slightly. Add the butter and swirl until the milk solids turn hazelnut-brown and smell nutty, about 1–3 minutes.
4. Add the maple syrup and water carefully, then return the kumquats. Simmer gently for 2–3 minutes, until glossy and slightly softened.
5. Remove from the heat. Loosen the cacao nib miso with a spoonful of the warm pan liquid, then fold it into the fruit. Add a splash of water if the coating is too thick.
6. Cool until just warm before spooning over the chilled pudding.

Notes

• If cacao nib miso is unavailable, use 1 teaspoon gluten-free mellow white miso and 1 teaspoon finely ground cacao nibs; this gives a similar bitter-salty accent, though not the same fermented flavor.

Overall Timing / Workflow

Chilling the pudding and marinating the chicken ahead leaves the oven work and quick skillet finishes for dinner service.

Instructions

1. Earlier in the day: marinate the chicken and make the pudding. Refrigerate both.
2. 0:00 — Heat the oven to 425°F. Prepare the Brussels sprouts, delicata, green garlic, and their dressings or glazes.
3. 0:15 — Start roasting the chicken on an upper-middle rack. Mix the chestnut butter and slice and seed the kumquats.
4. 0:30 — Add the green garlic to the chicken. Put the Brussels sprouts and delicata in the oven on separate pans, using the lower and middle racks as space allows.
5. 0:35 — Warm and brown the chestnuts, finish with their miso butter, and serve as the starter.
6. 0:50 — Check the vegetables, rotate pans as needed, and glaze the delicata when nearly tender. Begin checking the chicken temperature.
7. 0:55–1:10 — Rest the finished chicken, dress the Brussels sprouts, and finish the squash. Serve the main while the vegetables are hot.
8. After the main — Make the kumquat topping, let it cool briefly, then assemble dessert.

Notes

• Use convection at 400°F if available for multiple pans. If the oven is crowded, roast the vegetables first and rewarm briefly while the chicken rests.

Plating

Separate portions let each miso retain its identity, while a restrained amount of pan juice keeps the chicken skin and squash edges from becoming soggy.

Instructions

1. Serve the warm chestnuts in small bowls with a little sugar pie miso butter spooned over them.
2. Place one chicken thigh on each warm dinner plate with the roasted green garlic alongside. Spoon a little pan juice around, rather than over, the skin.
3. Add separate piles of glossy Brussels sprouts and sesame-flecked delicata crescents.
4. For dessert, spoon the cold pudding into shallow bowls. Add just-warm kumquats with a small amount of their brown-butter glaze, then scatter cacao nibs beside and over the pudding.

Leftover Path

Keeping the wet toppings separate preserves the textures and makes gentle reheating easier.

Instructions

1. Refrigerate cooked chicken, chestnuts, vegetables, and kumquats in separate covered containers within 2 hours. Use the chicken and cooked vegetables within 3–4 days.
2. Reheat chicken in a covered baking dish at 325°F with a splash of water until it reaches 165°F; uncover near the end to improve the skin.
3. Reheat squash and Brussels sprouts at 375°F until hot, shielding them if their glazes darken too quickly. Warm chestnuts gently in a skillet with a teaspoon of water.
4. Keep the pudding tightly covered and use within 2 days for best flavor. Store cacao nibs dry at room temperature and add only when serving.
5. Warm the kumquat topping gently until the butter loosens, then spoon over leftover pudding. Shredded chicken and chopped roasted vegetables also make an easy next-day lunch.