Umami Salad Dressing and Salad
Description
Umami or savory taste is one of the five basic tastes, in addition to sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Translations for the word umami include: “a pleasant savory taste”, “yummy”, or “deliciousness.”
At a Glance
Equipment
No special equipment is needed to create this fantastic salad.
Ingredients
For the Umami Salad Dressing:
¼ cup of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (Note: we enjoy the tartness of this dressing, but if it is too tart for you, you can add more Extra-Virgin Olive Oil)
¼ cup of Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon of Lemons Preserved in Salt, finely chopped. (For a great recipe for Lemons Preserved in Salt, please click here.). If you do not have Lemons Preserved in Salt, you can add the zest of a lemon.
3 Anchovy Fillets, finely chopped, so that it produces about 2 tablespoons
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1½ tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
½ teaspoon of Black Pepper, freshly ground
¼ teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
Salt to taste (Note: you may not need salt due to the preserved lemons and anchovies, so taste it first.)
For the Salad:
2 cups of Romaine Lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
½ cup of Grape Tomatoes, quartered
½ cup of Cucumber, sliced and then quartered
½ cup of Radishes, sliced
1/3 cup of Kalamata Olives, pitted and sliced
1/3 cup of Green Onion, chopped
½ cup of Carrot, grated
1 Avocado, sliced
Directions
To Prepare the Umami Salad Dressing:
Put all of the ingredients into a blender and process them until the dressing is smooth. Pour the dressing into a salad dressing container or jar and store it in the refrigerator. Bring the dressing to room temperature before serving.
To Prepare the Salad:
Toss all ingredients in a salad bowl. Add the umami salad dressing, and toss well and then serve.
