Maple Syrup Mustard Dressing

Hello! Hope all is well.

This dressing recipe was born simply because I was bored of my usual lemon or balsamic vinaigrettes and I wanna try to keep my green vegetable consumption as exciting as possible.

Russian mustard can be purchased in [obviously] Russian markets/stores. It’s very spicy; almost like Japanese wasabi paste. The Russian mustard I’m referring to is hard to find so feel free to use wholegrain, yellow or regular deli-style. Or use part yellow mustard and part horseradish.

I usually use honey or brown sugar to sweeten dressings but Giada De Laurentiis (my favorite) gave me the idea of using maple syrup instead. Because it’s unfamiliar I thought it strange, only until I tried it. The syrup gives off a delicately sweet and floral flavor. Makes me wonder how I never thought of it myself!

Sesame seeds add texture and flavor.

This amount of dressing is enough for half a head of Romaine lettuce but I don’t like drowning my salad in dressing so use your own judgment. This is also good on baby spinach. : ]

Ingredients:

1 tbs Spicy Russian mustard

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

1 ½ tbs maple syrup

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Salt/pepper to taste

2 tbs sesame seeds

Toast the sesame seeds in a small pan on low heat for about 8 min, tossing occasionally. In the meantime, whisk together the rest of the ingredients. Toss your greens of choice in dressing and sesame seeds. Ta-da!

A heads-up for posts:

*A promoter for the Abel and Cole Cookbook was kind enough to send me a free copy. I’ve flipped through it already and it seems great! I can’t wait to try a recipe or two by next week and write a review.

*Next Saturday, I will be taking a course in Classic Croissants at the French Culinary Institute in NY. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while and I’m so excited! I promise to try to take lots of pictures ; )

*It’s Restaurant Week time again in New York and I am planning to take full advantage of it some time before it’s over, on July 31^st. The critic in me will be making a comeback.

All my love!