Ume Dressing

The Missus was getting tired of Her typical Arugula/green salad, even though I made the vinaigrette from scratch.

So, I decided to start looking thru my cookbooks for some inspiration. This one is from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty More. The recipe uses ume puree....so I went hunting for umeboshi paste and found a couple of different brands. The one that won out; both for intensity and balanced flavor was also the most expensive, $8.99 at Nijiya. Regardless; the Missus loves this sprout salad. I use three different types of sprouts; radish, a milder more conventional (i.e. broccoli) sprout, and something with a bit of peppery boldness - arugula or kale sprouts.

I usually make double this recipe, which is good for four good sized salads - in other words four lunches for the Missus.

It does deviate a bit from the original in Ottolenghi's book; but not greatly. I use more ume paste, less Sesame Oil, freshly ground black pepper, I also use more neutral oil (avocado); and also sneak in agave syrup (of course).

Ume Dressing - Inspired by Ottolenghi's Recipe in Plenty More:

2 Tsp Ume Paste (depending on brand, you may need more)
1 Tb Organic Rice Vinegar
1 Tb Lime Juice - Fresh Squeezed
2 Tb Minced Shallot
1 Tb Soy Sauce - I found the Kikkoman works well in this recipe
1 Tb White Sugar
1 Tsp Agave Syrup
1/4 Tsp Sesame Oil
5 Tb Avocado Oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

- Combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl and whisk
- Taste and season with salt and pepper

That's it!

To make the salad I mix the base ingredients in a salad bowl - 1 cup shelled edamame, thinly sliced radish and onion (sliced then briefly soaked in cold/ice water to remove the harshness), thinly sliced red cabbage, cilantro leaves, sliced cherry tomatoes, the three sprouts...

I put into a Pyrex container for the Missus and add several more items....what She calls "the good stuff", sliced avocado, cucumber, and either thinly sliced smoked duck or duck prosciutto (we get ours from D'Artangnan). Add a container of the dressing. The Missus adds in a container of roasted sliced almonds and pumpkin seeds.

And we have Her current favorite salad. Which She's been enjoying during the recent heatwaves...….

Comments

[RedDevil]

Looks delicious! Agave 😁

[kat]

sounds delicious and the ume sounds perfect for warm/hot days.

[Kirk]

Yes RD....you know I just had to figure out how to add agave, right?

It's the current favorite of the Missus Kat.

[barbara]

Kirk, that looks so professional and sounds delicious! Lucky Missus! Thank you for sharing.

[Kirk]

Hi Barbara - Thanks so much for the kind words! I hope you are doing well and are in good health. It's great hearing from you!

[Junichi]

That salad looks store bought! I made a ume salsa a while back. Instead of lime used ume paste and shiso instead of cilantro. Also added a little dashi and shichimi. It was a hit!

[Kirk]

That sounds great Junichi! The Missus is really lovin' this salad right now.

[Lynnea Fleming]

yum! That is a more complex version of the ume vinaigrette I make, but it sounds amazing! I'll have to give it a go one of these days when I want to up my salad game :) Thanks for sharing!

[Kirk]

Hope you like it Lynnea!