Cooking Local: Yuzu Sesame Salad with Nasturtium Flowers

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY GILLOTTI

Our garden is overflowing with lettuce, so I brought salad to a recent barbecue. People suspiciously eyed the flowers on top, but this salad was a hit! Expressions of doubt were replaced with delight, thanks to the edible nasturtium (ナスタチウム) flower.

Nasturtium imparts a spicy flavor to a dish, similar to watercress.  It best complements a sweet lettuce, and contrasts nicely with the bright citrus notes of yuzu (ゆず).Let’s get real though, nasturtiums are here to look pretty; they make salad sexy.

Yuzu is a fruit local to Japan, and sometimes difficult to find outside of Asia. The flavor to me is like combining a lemon with a mandarin.

I find it better as a sour ingredient, rather than eaten whole. The zest is especially flavorful.

For the salad:

• 4 chopped shiso leaves (シソ)
• 2 heads of lettuce
• 1 chopped myoga (みょうが)
• 1 carrot julienned (use a mandolin if you have it)
• ½ cup of nasturtium flowers

Yuzu Sesame Dressing

• Juice and peel from 2 yuzu fruits
• ½ tsp fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seed
• 1 tsp mirin (みりん)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mayo
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp water
• Pinch of salt
• Pepper to taste

Throw all of the yuzu dressing ingredients into a food processor to blend. Toss with the first four salad ingredients and top with nasturtium.