I can’t now remember where the idea of a miso-tahini dressing came from, but essentially those are two of my favourite ingredients. I grew up in Canada so I tend to use maple syrup prolifically in the place of honey (I never use sugar in dressings). I also love lime and ginger… so this dressing is a bouquet of fabulous flavours.
That being the case, and because the flavours aren’t just fabulous but also punchy, fairly and squarely in-your-face this dressing seeks a fairly passive unassuming partner, enter the cucumber. It’s got sort-of-exciting crunch, and a delicate not all that exciting flavour. Having said that, its skin gives a fresh lightness to a glass of water which I really like.
The dressing will keep, covered by a film of oil, for a week or so in the fridge.
Goes well with a plain-ish omelette (maybe with some herbs or feta) and some wholemeal bread.
Cucumber salad with miso-tahini dressing
Serves – 2
Ingredients
- cucumber
- tbsps pine nuts
- any little blue herb flowers to garnish… chives, basil, thyme… optional
Dressing:
- 2 tbsps tahini
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1 lime, zest and juice
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp dried ginger, or freshly grated
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Dry fry the pine nuts.
- Chop the cucumber, put in a pretty bowl.
- Make the dressing in a mini-chopper/blender, simply by adding all the ingredients, except the oil, and blending. Add the oil at the end to thin out the dressing so that it will cover the cubes of cool cucumber without too much difficulty.
- Add the dressing to the cucumber.
- Garnish with the pine nuts and the flowers if you have any.
- Toss well before serving around.