Part I: The Salad
Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that bring such joy.
The feel of crisp, freshly laundered sheets on a bed.
The sensation of gulping ice-cold water after a hard workout on a blistering day.
The whiff of heady, fresh rosemary from the herb pots on my front porch.
And a shamelessly simple dressing that can transform plain ol’ lettuce leaves into a salad I can’t get enough of.
Indeed, “Romaine Hearts in Miso-Mustard Dressing” has become the new favorite salad in my house. The recipe is from the new cookbook, “The Japanese Grill” (Ten Speed Press), of which I recently received a review copy. The book is by Tadashi Ono, executive chef at Matsuri in New York, and food writer Harris Salat.
Inside, you’ll find recipes for everything from classic chicken yakitori to foil-baked onions with soy sauce to miso yaki onigiri (grilled rice balls). While most of the recipes do make use of the grill, there’s also a chapter on salads that does not. This is one of those cookbooks that will tempt you with every recipe because they are all quite straightforward and with manageable ingredient lists.
