Shiso Mornay Pasta With Toasted Lemon Bread Crumbs
A good pasta dish really is one of my favorite things! There was a ton of purple shiso at the farmer’s market and decided to use some in this lovely and creamy pasta dish.
They’re generally pretty simple to make, come with a variety of different styles of sauces, flavors, shapes and textures. They are filling and they are satisfying; what’s not to like. I also love Shiso which is a type of Perilla Leaf in the min family of herbs! It has a lovely aroma and flavor that is kind of minty, citrusy, herbaceous and a bit bitter. During the late summer its easy to find massive bouquets of it at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, and that’s where this journey starts.
As I sat there with a giant bouquet of Shiso in my hand, I thought to myself: I should make a pasta with a Shiso Mornay sauce and Lemon Toasted Breadcrumbs. I went with it and here we are with this delicious kind of spin on Mac & Cheese.
For the breadcrumbs, we’re toasting off some Panko Bread Crumbs that I had on hand in olive oil and adding a good bit of lemon zest and some salt to finish them. The thicker Panko hold up nicely and gets an even lovelier texture when toasted. I like to toast mine on the darker side but you can also go for a lighter coloring/flavor if you prefer.
Note: You can make these breadcrumbs ahead of time and keep them in an airtight container for about a week. They’re great to have around for toppings and you can play around with a bunch of different flavor pairings.
A Mornay sauce is essentially just a French Béchamel with the addition of some grated Swiss Gruyère or Italian Parmesean Cheese. However, for this sauce, we’re using a French Comté, also sometimes known as ‘French Gruyère’ because of the two’s similarities. Flavor wise, there isn’t a massive difference in their aged forms, however Comté tends to be a bit sweeter and fruitier in it’s younger forms. For this pasta, feel free to use either if you have a preference or one is easier to find than the other.
Like many good pastas, this dish comes together in just around 20ish minutes and is quite delicious. I particularly like the flavor and texture pop from the lemon breadcrumbs and an generally just always happy to see Shiso having a moment in western cooking.
I hope you enjoy!
Cheers,
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Full Recipe:
Shiso & Mornay Pasta with Toasted Lemon Bread Crumbs
Ingredients
Method
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add in your breadcrumbs. Stir them frequently until nicely browned, lowering the temperature if needed to avoid burning them (about 7-10 minutes). Add in your lemon zest and salt your bread crumbs to taste, stirring constantly for a minute or two. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Add in flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes, until foamy and raw flour flavor is gone. Whisk in your milk and add in your minced shiso. Continue whisking until the sauce is thick (3-5 minutes). Whisk in the comté, half the lemon juice & nutmeg until fully mixed in. Season with salt.
- Cook pasta until just shy of al dente. While the pasta cooks, preheat a 12’ skillet over medium heat and add in your sauce. Once the pasta is ready, add it to the skillet along with the rest of the shiso and lemon juice. Mix until fully integrated and season with salt.
- Plate the pasta and garnish with breadcrumbs and more shiso.
