You might be surprised to learn that the star dish at Kismet Rotisserie isn’t actually a rotisserie chicken, but a humble wedge salad garnished with iceberg lettuce and colorful radishes smothered in a vegan miso poppy seed dressing. do not have. For Kismet Rotisserie’s two chefs, Sarah Kramer and Sarah Hymanson, this ’90s-inspired dish is the restaurant’s sleeper hit.
The fact that Kramer and Hymansson even met in person and then decided to leave their lives in New York for the sunshine of Los Angeles is kismet in itself. Kramer is Mamma Mia! While a Broadway singer from the Bronx, Hymanson was a Chicago-born contortionist with an interest in cooking. In the end, it was meat that brought them together. They met while working at Meat Hook and Brooklyn Kitchen, a butcher shop and cooking school in Williamsburg.
But what the Sarahs have in common is their obsession with vegetables. “Vegetables are definitely our north star,” says Kramer. “It’s how we shape our menu, and how we think about food first and foremost.” In 2015, the pair opened their first Los Angeles restaurant, a falafel cafe called Madokapura (later known as Kismet Falafel) in downtown. When it opened at Grand Central Market, the menu was entirely made up of vegetables. Subsequent restaurants, Kismet and Kismet Rotisserie, similarly offered large green salads and veggie sandwiches, Moroccan-spiced carrots, vegan dips, and roasted maitake mushrooms.
So it’s no surprise that Kramer and Hymanson’s new cookbook gives plants the same love. The plant is exactly in the title. Kismet: Bright, fresh, vegetable-loving recipes. The book’s largest chapter is titled “Salads,” and showcases Kramer and Hymanson’s creativity with the amazing produce found in Southern California. “It’s an infinitely versatile category with so many possibilities,” says Kramer. “You can build different flavors and create different textures. It’s one of the most playful sections that makes our dreams come true.”
One of the highlights of this chapter is the wedge salad with miso poppyseed dressing. This recipe takes Hymanson back to his teenage years in the ’90s. “Between the two of us, we wanted the rotisserie to be a little bit his ’90s themed, and the poppy seed vinaigrette feels like a throwback to his ’90s,” says Hai. Manson explains. “It was a big part of my childhood.”
The goal was to create a nostalgic dressing that was creamy like ranch or blue cheese, but completely vegan. The base starts with aquafaba, leftover from all the chickpeas used in the restaurant. “Poppy seed dressings are typically loaded with sugar, so we were looking to create a vinaigrette that had a little more depth, was healthier, more nuanced, and fresher,” Hymansson says. says. That meant honey as a sweetener, miso paste for umami, and classic ingredients like white vinegar, onion powder, and lemon juice.
“It’s such a simple thing, but we actually put a lot of thought into the vinaigrette to make it light, creamy, and satisfying,” says Kramer. “It really hits the right notes.”
Wedge salad with miso poppy dressing
(For 4 people)
material:
For poppy miso dressing:
1/4 cup white miso
1 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/3 cup aquafaba from 1 can (15 oz) of chickpeas
1 cup neutral oil, such as canola or sunflower oil
1 and 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
For salad:
1 iceberg lettuce, cut into 4 wedges
Thinly slice 6 to 8 radishes (any type) on a mandoline
2 green onions (thinly sliced)
1 cup parsley leaves
Instructions:
step 1: Make the miso poppy dressing: In a blender, combine the miso, honey, mustard, onion powder, salt, vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and aquafaba. Blend on medium-high speed for 10 seconds, then pour in the oil while the blender is still running and slowly pour in to emulsify.
Step 2: Once the oil is fully incorporated, add the poppy seeds and blend for a second or two to disperse them, then immediately turn off the blender. Store in the refrigerator until use.
Step 3: Assemble the salad: Place iceberg wedges on a platter (or individually on plates). Spoon a generous amount of the dressing over the wedges. Scatter the radish, green onion, and parsley on top.
Kismet: Bright, fresh, vegetable-loving recipes Copyright © 2024 by Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson. Photo Copyright © 2024 by Chris Bernabeo. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group.
