Jess from Jess' Underground Kitchen shares with us a tasty way to up your intake of greens – a very versatile (and vegan) green dressing.
Jess Daniell's Green Dressing Photo: Supplied/Jess Daniell
This "really loose recipe" - from her second cookbook My Underground Deli - can be used to make a dressing for salads, a barbecue marinade or a sauce for roast vegetables.
"It's a real great staple to have in your repertoire," Jess tells Jesse Mulligan.
Recipe: Green Dressing
- Sugar? Jess knows it's a bit controversial but a little will temper the acid from the lemon and vinegar, she says. You can reduce it, or replace it with honey or maple syrup.
- If you don't have white wine vinegar, you can use whatever vinegar is on hand.
- If you don't have rice bran oil, you can use any other light-flavoured oil.
- Use whatever herbs are on hand.
- Add Mexican flavour with jalapeno peppers or Mediterranean flavour with capers.
- "Blitz it till it's as chunky or as smooth as you want," Jess says. A chunky version makes a good salsa verde to serve on steak.
- Green dressing can be frozen in an ice cube tray.
Recipe: Jess Daniell's pickled red onions
Almost six years ago, Jess started making extra serves of her homecooked meals because she loved cooking.
She didn't set out for it to be a business, but Jess' Underground Kitchen now has two delis in Auckland, delivers Auckland-wide and sells fresh, frozen and readymade slow cooker meals through the supermarket chain Farro Fresh.
She hopes to go nationwide soon.
Jess' advice for people starting out in the food industry:
"Test your market, know what works and stay true to your product.
"Do one or two things at 100 percent rather than ten things at 50 or 60 percent. That's how you get loyalty and customers."
