Japanese yello® apple and kohlrabi salad

Servings:

Now’s about that time of year when I say ‘hello’ to yello®, with its striking sunny colour and tropical aroma – perfect for chomping into, ideal for baking and a dream for delicate salads like this one. Its Japanese origins, in the form of the apple variety known as Shinano Gold, means that this apple lends itself perfectly to this Japanese apple and kohlrabi – the apple of cabbages! I use a Japanese julienne slicer to get these fine shavings, which you can pick up from cookware shops, and makes for the best coleslaws too.

Ingredients

▢ 3 yello® apples julienned
▢ 2 kohlrabi peeled and julienned
▢ 3 stems of spring onion thinly sliced on a generous diagonal

Toasted Sesame Dressing

▢ ½ cup sesame seeds.
▢ 1 garlic clove
▢ ½ a thumb’s worth of ginger peeled and roughly chopped
▢ 2 tbsp soy sauce
▢ ⅓ cup mirin
▢ ½ cup neutral oil such as rice bran or grapeseed

Instructions

Make the dressing by popping a medium-sized pan onto a low to medium heat. Once the pan’s really hot, sprinkle in the sesame seeds and listen for the ‘pop’ as they start toasting right away. Give them the occasional toss, and keep them in there until they’re really golden brown with some being close to burnt. You’ll want this colour for the depth of flavour. Depending on the thickness of the base of your pan, you might want to pop it back onto the heat for the final blast of burnish.
In a food processor or with a stick blender, blend all of the dressing ingredients (reserving a teaspoon or so of toasted sesame seeds for garnish) together for 2 minutes. You want the sesame seeds to break up, which will help to thicken the dressing.
Arrange the julienned apple, kohlrabi and spring onion slices in a serving bowl, drizzle with the dressing and toss about to combine. Sprinkle over reserved sesame seeds and serve immediately.
You can double the dressing ingredients and store the rest in the fridge - it will last for up to a month in there!