I wanted to make Miso-Squash Soup With Sesame-Ginger Apples, but I couldn't find all the ingredients. In particular, I couldn't find bonito flakes at the normal place. Bonito flakes (katsuobushi) are simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna. They give dashi (kombu + katsuobushi), a japanese fish stock which is the base of miso soup, a smoky/meaty flavor. I couldn't even find it (or instant dashi for that matter!) in the biggest Asian market in my city. So, I had to improvise a bit. A while ago, I was really into making different kinds of stocks. I had frozen quarts of a vegan stock and a French fish stock (fumet). I decided to replace the dashi with a combination of these two stocks because the vegan stock included kombu and dried mushrooms while the fumet was the only fishy stock I had.

I boosted the fish flavor with some anchovy paste that I normally use in Italian dishes. I also used two acorn squash instead of the butternut asked for in the recipe. I like acorn squash because you can eat the thinner skin once cooked and they work very well in braised dishes.

I really like this dish because it reminds me of fall with the squash and apples, but still has a distinct flavor from the Asian ingredients. Emptying my older pantry items is a big plus as well.