Yotam Ottolenghi’s miso butter pasta is all about comfort

To comfort someone is to reduce or eliminate a negative condition, be it physical, mental, emotional or some combination thereof. When used as an adje...

To comfort someone is to reduce or eliminate a negative condition, be it physical, mental, emotional or some combination thereof. When used as an adjective to describe food, the idea of comfort takes on these soothing traits but also expands to include others. The descriptors celebrated chef and restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi settled on in his latest cookbook, "Ottolenghi Comfort,” are nurture, convenience, nostalgia and indulgence.

Still, "there is no one-comfort-food-fits-all,” he writes in the introduction. "Trying to pin down a specific set of comfort food recipes is as slippery as a bowl of noodles.”

That’s because the definition of comfort food is specific to each individual and can evolve over time with changes in locations, situations and one’s tastes.

However, Ottolenghi - who co-wrote the book with Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley - notes that clear themes emerge in terms of the types of foods we often view as comforting, such as those that feature carbs, fat and sugar, or a penchant for dishes served in bowls. One such recipe that checks off a few of these boxes is linguine with miso butter, shiitake mushrooms and spinach.

What they describe as "the most comforting of all sauces” for the pasta starts with sautéing a finely chopped shallot in a pan with olive oil and butter. Next go in sliced shiitake mushrooms followed by fresh garlic, miso paste, vinegar and soy sauce. Reserved pasta cooking water is added to the pan, and pieces of butter are whisked in one at a time to create a luscious, shiny sauce - a technique referred to as mounting with butter.