Biitsu no masukarupoone tofu-zoe / beets with mascarpone tofu dip

Softly fruity, creamy and slightly sour mascarpone with beets. Too much creamy texture for a Japanese dish? Thin with sake and combine it with tofu and miso, and you have a tasty tofu dip with all the good character of mascarpone.

<Ingredients>

1 beet
Chives (for garnish, optional, not in photo)

For mascarpone tofu dip
1/16 (approx. 2 tbsp or 2 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm) of 1 momen firm tofu
2 tsp mascarpone cheese
1/2 tbsp sake
1/4 tsp white miso
1/2 tsp usukuchi soy sauce


<Directions>
1.
Boil beet with a small amount of vinegar until tender (40-60 minutes). Let cool in water used for boiling. (The beet in the ingredient photo above was boiled a day before.)

2.

Prepare mascarpone tofu dip.
Microwave sake for 5 seconds to get rid of alcohol.

Gently squeeze tofu in your hand to remove excess water, and mash it in mortar. Add sake and mascarpone, and mix well until mascarpone is well incorporated.

Add miso and less than the specified amount of soy sauce, mix well, taste, and add more soy sauce if necessary.

3.

Slice or cut beet into small pieces.

4.

Serve beet, and top with mascarpone tofu dip.
Sprinkle some chopped chives on top.

<Notes>

• Saltiness and sweetness of miso varies by product. If your miso tastes salty, use less at first. If it tastes sweet, you may want to add a little more miso or soy sauce.
• If using Chinese or other type of very firm tofu, you may want to add more sake to obtain smoother, softer texture.
• I boil beet a day before; making the dip only takes a few minutes.