So…many of us love that crunch and creaminess of a Caesar Salad, so we love to shift around some ingredients to what we have in season. This week – you can do it with the versatile Tokyo Bekana. And you can go for the true Caesar dressing, or this quick, tangy lovely Feta Buttermilk dressing — it fits the bill.
Salad
Plenty of Tokyo Bekana: it is truly in the cabbage family, but mild, crisp and lovely. It can also be stir fried or makes a good substitute for Napa Cabbage. Kale also works well here.
Edible flowers (optional)
Croutons, technically optional, but what a treat!
Dressing: Zesty Feta Buttermilk (inspired by Moosewood Daily Specials)
3/4 cup crumbled Feta (Does’ Leap & Neighborly both have organic local feta)
2/3 cup Buttermilk (We miss Mountain Home’s Buttermilk, but Butterworks is also local, grass fed and so good, just non-fat!)
2 Garlic cloves
2-3 Tablespoons Apple Cider or Artesano’s Honey Mead Vinegar
1/2 cup Olive or sunflower oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 teaspoons dill or other herb of choice (optional)
In a blender, immersion blender or food processor combine all ingredients except buttermilk, salt & pepper and puree until smooth. Gradually pour in buttermilk and process until creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Dressing keeps well for a week or more in the fridge. We often double the recipe and make this dressing of choice for the week!
Note: during the Covid pandemic, we experimented a bit more widely with the zesty, creamy dressing above out of necessity and we’ve found that you can: 1 – use a wide variety of soft cheeses — we used a homemade ricotta and just added a bit more salt and 2 – subsitute for the buttermilk – either making “homemade” buttermilk with milk and a bit of vinegar or using yogurt. Same creamy, garlicky result!