You may not have grown up with real fermented sourdough bread, an umami-attuned palate, or a stash of pickled mustard seeds in the pantry, but – if you’re a wellness lover – you probably do now.
This sexy little umami toast recipe by Chef Greg Arnold of Dark Horse is exactly what we’re eating now. It’s not your mama’s health food. But, as Dark Horse’s tagline so succinctly puts it, it’s “modern/ancient” — a key descriptor in today’s wellness foodie lexicon.
Try the toast, then meet the chef in today’s interview here.
Umami Toast
Ingredients:
For the umami tahini:
1 cup tahini paste
¾ cup spring water
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic (peeled)
1 Tbsp umami powder
1 tsp urfa biber
salt to taste
For the heirloom tomato:
2-3 heirloom tomatoes
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
For assembly/garnish:
sourdough bread
extra-virgin olive oil
Maldon sea salt
Dark Horse pickled mustard seeds
Parmesan
smoked aubergine
market radishes
capers
nasturtium
Directions:
For the umami tahini:
In a food processor, mince the garlic and scrape it down from the sides with a spatula. Add the tahini, lemon and dry ingredients and blend for about 30 seconds, then begin to drizzle in the water. You should achieve a thick creamy sauce. Add more water if needed (different tahini pastes have different textures out of the jar). Taste several times during the blending for salt and lemon then add if needed.
For the heirloom tomato:
Slice tomatoes in half and toss in a mixing bowl with the salt and olive oil. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place tomatoes cut side up and cover the tops with the thyme.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until about ⅓ of the moisture has evaporated and the tops are getting browned. Allow to cool completely. Remove thyme. Slice into bite sized pieces.
To assemble:
If you have a smoker, smoke the aubergine. If not, then roast them in the same way as the tomato.
I like to use fermented sourdough toast. At the restaurant we use Bub and Grandmas loaves, which are fantastic.
Slice the loaf into 1 ½-inch slices. Drizzle or brush with olive oil and top with Maldon salt. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place the bread on top. Bake at 350 until the top is golden brown but the middle is still soft.
Rinse the capers well. I always use capers packed in salt, the ones that are in jars in a brine are not technically capers, they are pickles.
To garnish, slice the radishes on a mandoline. I slice the Parmesan with a mandoline as well and then slice again into matchsticks. Spread out the tahini and then the Dark Horse pickled mustard seeds. Top with the rest of the ingredients and then the flowers on top. If flowers are not in season, some good garnishes would be dill or parsley leaves.
