Only 30 Minutes To Umami With These Miso-Glazed Mushroom Kebabs

Mushrooms are the perfect starting point for a truly flavorful plant-based main dish. They can be cooked in a variety of ways and flavored with just about anything—but they shine in simplicity, which is exactly how they star in this dish.

"A simple glaze made from miso paste, soy sauce, and maple syrup makes these roasted portobello mushrooms the star of any dinner table," write Maja and Jernej Zver in Epic 30-Minute Roasts. "The mushrooms are incredibly rich in flavor, aromatic, and have an umami aftertaste."

Umami is one of the five basic tastes, the others being sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness, and it speaks to that depth of flavor that most often is achieved through slow cooking of meats or in broths. Here, umami is achieved in a mere half-hour thanks to the simple, but carefully balanced, glaze used on the mushrooms—which also carries notes of the other four basic tastes, too.

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Miso has a history stretching back through thousands of years in Japanese cuisine, and now more modern studies are confirming its reputed health benefits. Made from fermented soybeans, it has a high density of vitamins and minerals and packs the power of fermented foods. Paired with garlic and other forceful flavors, the miso provides a depth of flavor that allows these quick-cooked mushrooms to echo the profile of a slow-roasted dish—in less than half the time.