magical dressing

There is a magical salad dressing that comes out of this part of the world. Originating, I believe, at a certain overpriced and addictive Japanese restaurant where I made my start, this dressing could start a war. I speak, of course, of ume scallion dressing.
When I worked at the unnamed restaurant, I swear that people would offer up their unborn children for the recipe, not to mention shovel piles of money on the sushi bar to take home a little paper to-go bowl of dressing home with them. I'm sure people used that dressing inappropriately, spread it their skin, other's skin, or like me, poured it on lots of other kinds of food besides salad. It is, shall we say, not a salad dressing, but a dressing for what you will.

Long story short, I made this dressing yesterday. Without a recipe, and it came out so good that I poured it over the whole dinner. I have no idea of the measurements, but I know what it looked like, and this I will share with you.

You will need an indeterminate amount of the following ingredients:
scallions, sliced, all of the white and most of the green
watercress (about a normal sized bunch here)
Umeboshi Vinegar
Canola Oil
Salt

You will need a lot of scallions. One really big farmer's market bunch, or at least two supermarket bunches. Put them into the blender. Add the watercress. Fill the blender about a third to a half (depending on the size of your blender) full of canola oil around the veggies. Shake in the vinegar for what seems like a bit too long. Add a pile of salt. Blend. The dressing should be bright green. Taste it. If you do not swoon, adjust your seasonings. Pour over everything. Magical. It will turn anything green and make it tasty.

Yes, yes, I finally posted measurements. Here you go.

Hail the size of basketballs

Okay, maybe actually very small golf balls. Nevertheless, ice rained down on my beautiful swiss chard and baby lettuce, the very first things I ever started from seed, and it is a green battlefield out there. And I'll tell you, the swiss chard did not win. So tomorrow? Swiss Chard Pie.

Mid July Swiss Chard Pie

As much swiss chard (and or kale) as you can find, stemmed and washed
2 Large Leeks or 4-6 baby leeks, cleaned and sliced in 1/2 inch strips
a handful of fresh dill
6 oz. feta cheese
3 large eggs
a few shakes of salt
olive oil

pie crust

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, frozen
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup white flour
pinch of salt
ice water


Cut the butter into 1/4 inch pieces. Combine the butter with the white flour with two knives or a pastry blender. Work it till the butter is in small chunks. Then add second cup of flour and mix together. Slowly add ice water a bit at a time, and keep mixing with your hands until the dough sticks together. Shape into a ball, wrap in parchment, and fridge it.

Now throw the leeks and greens into a sautee pan with a bit of oil. Cover and cook for a few minutes until they are tender. Then put cooked greens, feta, dill, eggs and salt into the blender or food processor. Blend until green and creamy.

Take the pie crust out, roll out on a floured surface, and place into a buttered and floured pie or quiche pan. Pour in the green filling. Bake in a 375 degree oven for thirty to forty minutes, or until the top starts to brown slightly and the crust is golden.

This recipe came to me from my friend Meg. It works well with any cooked green, is great warm or cold, and is a good lunch box food. My child who won't touch anything green will eat an entire swiss chard pie. The other one despises it, but I think one out of two is pretty good, right?