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Miso-Infused Cream Cheese Spread
© Johnny Miller

Miso-Infused Cream Cheese Spread

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  • ACTIVE:
  • TOTAL TIME: 15 MIN Plus 4 days chilling
  • SERVINGS: 8
  • •MAKE-AHEAD
  • •VEGETARIAN

Cooks in Japan cure all kinds of food in miso, from fish to tofu. Inspired, chef David Myers uses the fermented soybean paste to flavor cream cheese.

Slideshow: More Miso Recipes

  1. One 8-ounce block cold cream cheese
  2. 1 cup white miso (8 ounces)
  3. Assorted crudités, rice crackers and shichimi togarashi (a Japanese chile-spice blend), for serving
  1. Tightly wrap the cream cheese in a 12-by-8-inch piece of cheesecloth.
  2. Lay a 12-inch piece of plastic wrap on a work surface. Using slightly wet hands, spread 1/4 cup of the miso into a rectangle that’s roughly the size of the cream cheese. Set the cheesecloth-wrapped cream cheese on top of the miso; spread the remaining 3/4 cup of miso all over the top and sides. Wrap in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 days.
  3. Unwrap the cream cheese; discard the plastic wrap and cheesecloth. The spread can be served sliced or whipped, with crudités, rice crackers and shichimi togarashi.