This blog post needs to be dedicated to Natasha and her deep passion for a good salad. There isn’t a day that I haven’t gone to Natasha’s home and welcomed with a nice bowl of yummy veggies that always seem to taste amazing. In fact, the complete series of salad content actually comes from dinners that Natasha and her mum have hosted through the years. I find the concept of a salad quite vague because of the lack of structure. In all honesty, you really don’t need much for something to be called a salad. It’s almost like what vegans have done to milk. Just because its a white liquid doesn’t mean its milk (don’t you dare read this the wrong way).

Upon more research (and constant reprimands from Natasha to make more salads), I realised that there can be a structure to a salad if we build one. Samin Nosrat wrote a book titled Salt, Acid, Fat, and Heat. It’s by far one of the most beautiful cookbooks ever made that also features a Gantt chart. Samin postulates that any good salad needs, salt, acid, fat, and protein. This makes sense, look at most salad recipes and they do follow this norm. In fact, I loved this concept so much, I took a deep dive and broke down some common salad recipes into these Nosratian elements in our podcast, Getting Lost with Archit & Shirin as well!

I would be remiss if I dedicate a blog post to Natasha and don’t talk about her. Ever since the lockdown started, Natasha has been an integral part of the blog. She helped me build a studio, talk to brands and negotiate prices, and better yet scream at them when they delay payments. She has also allowed me to expand my content horizon. Pushed me to make more accessible recipes (like the coffee pudding), and worked with me day and night to meet deadlines. Its hard to find such a dedicated, creative, and assertive person all rolled into one but she makes it happen and I am so blessed to have her in my life. More Natasha and Archit anecdotes in the ongoing salad series so assume this as a delicious little trailer.

There is an interesting relationship between the demand for salad content and the time of the year. The comments for the need of salad recipes begin around Jan (makes sense since Jan 1 is the day we collectively lie to ourselves in the form of resolutions) and the demand teeters back down until about August when we see a second spike which I would like to attribute to the upcoming wedding season throughout the nation. I however took my sweet time in delivering. Not because I was lazy but because torturing people with carbs is low key a guilty pleasure that I love to exploit. This Gomae salad begins my series of salad! This Japanese dish is considered more of a side dish than a meal. It was traditionally make with sake and miso. However, as it travelled through the pacific to America, the dressing focussed more of tahini, rice wine vinegar, and sugar. I usually fein disdain in the Americanisation of food but this dressing is truly delicious. It hits all the right spots as it sits on top of a bed of wilted yet juicy spinach that soaks in the flavour like a dehydrated sponge that being introduced to water for the first time. I hope you do make this recipe!

Glimpses from the week

Ingredients

100 grams Blanched spinach

2 tbsp Rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp Tahini

2 tbsp Sugar

1 tbsp Sesame oil

1-2 tbsp Sesame seeds

1 tbsp Soy sauce

Spinach water for thinning

Method

1. The first thing we will do is. blanch our spinach. In a stockpot add water to boil and add your spinach and let it wilt. No longer for 3-minutes. Once the spinach wilts and turns a dark green color, remove from the stockpot and place the spinach in ice cold water. This will arrest the cooking process and prevent the volume of the spinach further.

2. Time to make the salad dressing. In a bowl with tahini, add Soy sauce, Sesame oil, Rice wine vinegar. Mix well until everything has come together. To this add confectioners sugar. You can use regular sugar or a simple syrup since sugar won’t really mix all the way through as is.

3. For the assembly, plate your spinach in the form of a patty and drizzle the dressing on top. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and you’re done!