Dressings

Creamy Parsley Mint Sauce
Yields about 1 cup
¼ cup toasted and chopped almonds
1 cup packed parsley, chopped
½ cup packed spearmint, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup lemon juice (juice of 1 medium lemon)
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup
½ teaspoon sea salt or more to taste
1 teaspoon umeboshi vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
Directions:
- Place almonds in food processor, process until finely ground.
- Add rest of the ingredients and process until smooth.
- Adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Keep in refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Tahini Miso Dill Dressing
Yields about 1 cup
Ingredients:
¼ cup toasted tahini butter
2 tablespoons sweet white miso
¼ cup lemon juice (juice of 1 medium lemon)
¼ cup (or a little more) filtered water
¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
Directions:
- Place tahini, miso, and lemon juice in suribachi or mixing bowl. Using surikogi or pestle to mix until well combined.
- Add water and mix until smooth. You may need to add more or less water to reach a desired consistency.
- Stir in dill.
- Use on any salad dish from noodle salad to bean or grain salads, and more.
- Will keep in refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Pumpkin Seed Dressing
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
¾ cup seeds, lightly roasted
2 t umeboshi paste
⅛ cup parsley, coarsely chopped
⅛ cup chopped green onions
Juice from ½ lemon
Water for desired consistency, approximately ¾ cup
Directions:
- Wash seeds, and lightly roast in a cast iron skillet. When roasted seeds should be slightly brown, puffy and should break easily between your fingers.
- Add the roasted seeds to a blender or food processor and blend briefly.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Dressing should be thick.
Served over pressed salad, blanched vegetables or steamed greens.
Kale-Sunflower Seed Pesto
Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, not peeled
3 cups kale, chopped
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons chickpea or white miso
1/2 teaspoon umeboshi vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
Black pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Toast garlic cloves in skillet over medium flame, shaking skillet occasionally, until softened and spotty brown, about 8 minutes. When garlic is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skins and chop coarsely.
- Meanwhile, toast sunflower seeds in now empty skillet over medium flame, stirring often, until golden and fragrant for about 4-5 minutes.
- Bring water to a boil in a pot, add a few pinches sea salt. Blanch kale for a couple of minutes until colors brighten and kale is tender. Set aside to cool.
- In food processor, place garlic, toasted sunflower seeds, blanched kale, chickpea miso, umeboshi vinegar, sea salt, and black pepper if using. Process until finely chopped, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.
- With processor running, slowly add olive oil until well-incorporated. Transfer pesto to jar for storage. To prevent browning, make the surface of the pesto flat and cover it with thin layer of olive oil.
Chef’s note: It is better to toast garlic cloves in order to tame its sharp flavor and to bring up its sweetness. The pesto can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Before using, bring to room temperature. As a variation, use 2 cups chopped kale and 1 cup fresh basil leaves for a more herby Mediterranean flavor.

Tahini Garlic Dressing
Ingredients:
1 T olive oil 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T tahini
2 T lemon juice
1 t umeboshi vinegar Dash of shoyu or tamari
¼ – ⅓ cup water
Directions:
- Lightly sauté the garlic in 1 T olive oil.
- Place all ingredients and ¼ cup water in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add water to reach desired consistency.
- Adjust the flavor with shoyu or tamari.

Toasted Sunflower Seed Dressing
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 T umeboshi paste
1 cup coarsely chopped parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
½ -3/4 cup water
Directions:
- Rinse the sunflower seeds and lightly toast in a cast iron skillet. You know the sunflower seeds are done when they break easily.
- Place sunflower seeds in a blender or food processor and blend until finely chopped.
- Add umeboshi paste, lemon juice, parsley and ½ cup water.
- Blend until smooth. You may need to add more water until you reach the desired consistency. Dressing should be thick.
Served over pressed salad, blanched vegetables or steamed greens.