Raw Food Alchemy by Amie Sue
Your not the only one who needs proper attention as to how you are dressed for a dinner party!! Your salad deserves the same amount of respect, it too wants to dress for success! :) Have I lost you? I guess what I am trying to say here is that it is important to use the right lettuce leaves with the right dressing, not just flavor wise but texture wise. For example, you don’t want to pair up a heavy, thick dressing with tender baby lettuce leaves. They won’t be able to stand up to the weight of the dressing. Romaine lettuce is nice and hearty. Its crunchy texture can stand up to any dressing. Specially a thick one. Butter lettuce is a crisp-head lettuce, meaning its leaves form a compact head as it grows – although its head is much less compact than iceberg lettuce. Butter lettuce has a tender texture and large, cupped leaves that work beautifully in salads, especially with delicate dressings.
So when it comes to making this dressing you can control how thick or thin you wish for it to be so it can pair up nicely with the lettuce that you have on hand.
The secret to a perfectly tossed salad is simple: use your hands. Wash them first (and after!), of course, but no tongs or salad tools can possibly replicate the delicacy and feel of human hands. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll never go back to brutalizing your lovely salads with bruising, damaging spoons or forks:
Hello Ami Sue!
This is an excellent recipe — it is somewhat similar to the salad dressing I had at a vegetarian restaurant recently. It is called Sweet Sesame Miso Sauce. The ingredients are dark barley miso, lemon juice, maple syrup, nama shoyu, toasted sesame oil, EVOO and garlic. I just have to play around to duplicate the desired flavor. Your recipe just came in time as I could use it as my guideline. The toasted sesame oil would definitely add some depth to the dressing. It is a question of how much to add to EVOO (maybe 1 teaspoon). What do you think?
As always, thanks for making your wonderful website available to all of us!
Wayne
Greetings Wayne,
Ohhh that dressing sounds delicious too! Well, it depends on the quantity of dressing that you are aiming to make. I would start with 1/4-1/2 cup, adding just a small amount of toasted sesame oil, since that is strong in flavor. I would love to hear how your dressing comes out! Thanks for sharing, amie sue
It’s early morning, and as soon as I saw this recipe, I went to work. Turned out delicious. I made a few alterations…instead of tahini, i used 1/4 of a small hass avo, and 2 T. maple syrup instead of 3, and 1 T. millet miso, instead of 2. fabulous. thank you so much, kate
Hello Kate!
I am so happy to hear that your morning started with inspiration. :) Isn’t it wonderful how a person can adapt raw recipes so easily to what ingredients are on hand or what your taste buds are crying for? I never felt that freedom as much with cooked foods. Be blessed, amie sue :)
I really appreciate the thorough instructions you have here – even to toss a salad. The dressing looks yummy. I didn’t realize the chia seeds will still absorb liquid even though they are ground up.
Good afternoon Sonia,
Aaaah the magical poperties of chia! Yes indeed. I hope you give it a try, let me know if you like it. Have a happy day, amie sue
Amie Sue, can you replace the chia seeds with ground flax seeds? This looks very delicious but I don’t have any chia seeds and I’d like to try it right away. Thanks!
Hi Alta,
You could but it might give it that flaxy taste…try making it without first. See if the consistency works for your needs…you might be able to get away without thickening it. :) Keep me posted! amie sue