gomae

SERVES 2 TO 4 AS A MEAL This Japanese spinach salad always reminds me of Sobaya, one of my favorite restaurants in New York. Tucked away on Ninth Street, when you enter the warmly lit, crowded little space, it’s like a passageway straight to Japan, and the city outside falls away with the first taste of steamy soba. Enjoy this simple and clean salad with a delicious noodle soup, sushi, or fish and rice. I see many recipes out there for shortcuts using tahini, but I love the texture of the sesame seeds crushed by hand, and it hardly takes any time at all, especially if you buy pretoasted sesame seeds.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

PREP: Trim the ends of the stems from 1 pound (455 g) spinach; wash the leaves well and spin dry.

Step 2

COOK: Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook it for just a minute or two, until the stems are just tender and it’s bright green. Using a spider or tongs, transfer it immediately to the ice bath.

Step 3

MAKE THE SESAME SOY DRESSING DRESSING: Using a mortar and pestle, crush ¼ cup (40 g) sesame seeds until they are mostly smooth but have a little texture left. Put them in a large bowl. Then, really crush 1 tablespoon sesame seeds until completely smooth—no full seeds or chunks should remain. Add to the large bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons honey, and 2 teaspoons mirin.

Step 4

ASSEMBLE AND SERVE: Drain the spinach in a fine-mesh sieve and press with a spatula to remove some of the water. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel that you don’t mind getting quite dirty—and twist together at the top to form a bundle. Twist and squeeze with all of your might to get out the excess water. Mix the spinach and the sesame paste and serve.