Mushroom Salad with Ginger Sesame Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ginger syrup (Or swap 2 tsp grated ginger and 1 TB sugar)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, Tamari, or coconut aminos
• 8 ounces mushrooms, such as oyster, enoki, shiitake, or crimini (baby bella)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 ounces bitter greens (like kale, baby kale, watercress, or arugula), stems removed + roughly chopped (2 large handfuls of greens)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (Or swap regular sesame oil)

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Make the Dressing: ---

2. 2

   Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium-low heat. Stir often for 3-5 minutes, and turn off the heat when the sesame seeds turn a pale golden color.Make sure to keep a close eye on the seeds while toasting. They'll go from perfect to burnt very quickly.

3. 3

   Pick either method below to prepare the dressing:Mortar + Pestle: Lightly crush the toasted sesame seeds using a mortar + pestle. Whisk together the seeds with the lemon juice, rice vinegar, ginger syrup, and soy sauce.Blender or Food Processor: Add the toasted seeds, lemon juice, rice vinegar, ginger syrup, and soy sauce to a blender or food processor and blend on high to crush some of the seeds. This method works best with a small blender basin instead of a large basin.Don't have a blender, food processor, or a mortar + pestle? You can skip this step. Your dressing will be slightly thinner.

4. 4

   --- Mushroom Salad: ---

5. 5

   Prepare mushrooms by tearing into small pieces. (Alternatively, slice them.) If your mushrooms have a tough stem, discard and compost the stem.

6. 6

   Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and salt. Gently stir the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are lightly wilted.

7. 7

   Lower heat to medium-low. Add the rice vinegar, and cover the pan. Steam for 2 minutes.

8. 8

   Add the sesame dressing. Use a rubber spatula to scrape all the dressing into the pan.Add the sesame oil and stir into the mushrooms.

9. 9

   Add the bitter greens and cover the pan until wilted. If using very tender greens, they will wilt almost immediately. If using tougher greens (like kale), the greens should wilt within 1-2 minutes.Turn off the heat and serve the mushroom salad while it's still warm.