At our Culloden Court market last week, we invited one of the community members, Yukiko, to be our guest chef at the Tasting Kitchen. She cooked up a delicious traditional Japanese dish: spinach gomae. It was such a hit with the market go-ers that we’ve decided to publish the recipe on our website. Enjoy!

You’ll need:
1 bunch spinach
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, ground
pinch of salt to taste

To toast the sesame seeds, put them in a frying pan and cook them on medium heat until golden. Shake the pan frequently to avoid burning. Remove from the heat once done. Crush the sesame seeds in a spice grinder or put them in a plastic bag and crush them with rolling pin. Chopping them on a cutting board will also work.

Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water for about one minute. Drain and soak in cold water to stop further cooking. Squeeze the water from the spinach and cut into two-inch long pieces.

In a bowl mix soy sauce, sugar, sesame seeds and add spinach.

This sesame sauce is good with other vegetables such as green beans, broccoli, broccolini, okra, cabbage and carrots. Adding a little sesame oil is also an option.