Fortunately, my little backyard provides dandelion greens, feral chives, trout lily… Yes, I’m eating the weeds. Also lately, I’ve been seeing bags of stemmy Claytonia — also called miner’s lettuce — from Dog River Farm at City Market, and I grabbed some the other day on a whim. Miner’s lettuce is an early spring weed, native to the American West, with dainty little heart-shaped leaves and long, crunchy stems. It doesn’t taste like much, mostly just green — crisp and watery. But, when paired with my backyard bounty, it contributes to a refreshing salad.
The real trick is in the dressing. I call this my “everything dressing,” because it’s great on anything — innocuous enough that it gets along well with whatever you decide to throw into the salad. It also makes a great marinade for all manner of proteins, from fish to mutton. On today’s salad, I added goat cheese. Tomorrow, maybe nuts or apples or pears. Later this summer, tomatoes…
Everything Dressing
Makes 1/2 cup
Ingredients
1 tablespoon miso (I’ve been using Mellow Red miso from Rhapsody Natural Foods, in Cabot)
2 tablespoons water
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon plum vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 very small clove garlic, smashed but whole
Preparation
In a small Mason jar, blend the miso and water with a fork until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients, plus whatever seasonings you prefer — ginger (1/2 teaspoon, freshly grated) is a nice addition, as is pepper or coriander. Add a tablespoon or so of tahini, and it starts to resemble goddess dressing…
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This is awesome!!!