Our garden is overflowing with lettuce, so I brought salad to a recent bbq. People suspiciously eyed the flowers on top, but this salad was a hit! Expressions of doubt were replaced with delight, thanks to the edible nasturtium flower.

Nasturtium imparts a spicy flavor to a dish, similar to watercress.  It best complements a sweet lettuce, and contrasts nicely with the bright citrus notes of yuzu. Let’s get real though, nasturtiums are here to look pretty; they make salad sexy.

Yuzu is a fruit local to Japan, and sometimes difficult to find outside of Asia. The flavor to me is like combining a lemon with a mandarin. I find it better as a sour ingredient, rather than eaten whole. The zest is especially flavorful.

For the salad:

• 4 chopped shiso leaves
• 2 heads of lettuce
• 1 chopped myoga
• 1 carrot julienned (use a mandolin if you have it)
• ½ cup of nasturtium flowers

Yuzu Sesame Dressing

• Juice and peel from 2 yuzu fruits
• ½ tsp fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seed
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mayo
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp water
• Pinch of salt
• Pepper to taste

Throw all of the yuzu dressing ingredients into a food processor to blend. Toss with the first four salad ingredients and top with nasturtium.

Vata – Since cool salads are less ideal for a person of vata constitution, you can bring warmth and grounding to this dish by adding cooked and diced kabocha or beni imo.

Pitta – Pitta people love edible flowers and beautiful food. They start eating with their eyes long before the food gets on their plate. This will make them especially happy.

Kapha – The spiciness of the flowers and lightness of the salad will be helpful for kapha. Add extra pepper and omit the mayo.

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