Miso-Tahini Dressing

Sorry to hit you with another miso recipe so soon, but it was the next salad dressing I planned to make, and it turned out I had salad after the cod.

By far, the hardest part of this dressing was taking photos.  It is ridiculously difficult to make salad dressing interesting in a blog post.  I'm going to assume that's why you always find it attached to some unnecessarily complex salad that you'll never make.

So what did I serve it on?  An unnecessarily complex salad.  We didn't go on the cruise this year (going to Disneyland in June instead), and I was feeling deprived of fancy platings.  I filled out the scarcity of arugula from the garden with chopped radish greens and shaved Brussels sprouts that had been blanched.  To top it, I sliced the radish the leaves had been attached to on the V-slicer, since it was already out for the sprouts, and chopped up a Roma tomato for more color.  This is a tan dressing.  It needs color to help it.  An artfully arranged hard boiled egg provided protein, and some Pao de Queijo balanced the meal.

The taste of the dressing is really nice.  Straight tahini is like unsalted, unsweetened peanut or cashew butter.  It isn't very interesting.  The miso provided salt and extra umami.  The other seasonings turned it into something almost like what I'd call teriyaki hummus, but with no soy sauce.  The soy is only in the miso.  This would make an excellent dipping sauce for shabu-shabu or fondue, or even as a veggie dip at a party.  Without any added water, it is dip consistency.  If you really thin it out, it could be used as a marinade for chicken or fish.

*2 Tb white or dashi miso paste
*2 Tb unsalted tahini paste
1 Tb rice wine vinegar
2 Tb peanut or sesame oil
1/2 tsp maple syrup
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
1" fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
water as needed

1.  Whisk together everything except the water.  It should come together as a thick, tan-colored dip.

2.  Slowly add water a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Keeps 5-7 days refrigerated.

Makes 1/2 C before thinning, 4 servings

Difficulty rating  π