This is a vegetarian recipe that even carnivores will love. It is a traditional Japanese side dish that uses common ingredients. The tofu sauce is tasty, and can be a great seasoning sauce for other greens such as spinach or chrysanthemum leaves. Typically, a Japanese mortar and pestle would be used to make the sauce. You may have seen the implements used to to grind the sesame seeds to add to the dipping sauce at Japanese fried pork (tonkatsu) restaurants. If you don’t have them, a food processor can be used instead. After so many heavy holiday foods, this is a refreshing dish to enjoy.

Green Beans in Tofu Dressing
Ingredients:
• 6 ounces medium tofu, drained
• 8 ounces green beans
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon white miso paste
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Optional: black or white toasted sesame seeds as garnish

Directions:
About 30 minutes before you start the recipe, wrap the tofu in paper towels, place it on a plate and weigh it down with another plate or a canned good — something heavy to draw out the excess water in the tofu. Make sure you have another plate to catch the drained water. Boil water in a pot and cook green beans until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain water. Discard stems and cut beans into 1-inch pieces, at a slight angle for appearance. Using a mortar or a food processor, smash the toasted sesame seeds until they are broken, then add miso, sesame oil, sugar and salt. Add the drained tofu and mash until all is creamy. Toss the green beans with tofu sauce and serve immediately or refrigerate until serving. Garnish with black or white sesame seeds, if you’d like. Makes a side dish for 4.

Lynette Lo Tom has written three cookbooks and loves hearing about home cooks. Visit lynettecooks.com for more information.