Amp Up Your Spring Salads! Try Black Sesame Seeds

Spring salads are coming! Spring salads are coming! Depending on where you live in the country, you might be starting to see more colorful produce and interesting vegetables at your market. But if spring produce hasn't yet made its way to you, never fear. There's an easy way to amp up your seasonal salads by adding a dramatic pop of color and delicious crunch: black sesame seeds.

Black sesame seeds are a close cousin to the white seeds you see more often — they're not hulled like the white ones and boast more of a dark, nutty flavor. While they're used most often in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, they're popping up more and more on restaurant and cafe menus across the country. 

A popular way to enjoy black sesame seeds is to toast them first to enhance their flavor. From there, you can sprinkle them in or on your morning granola or oats, on top of baked goods, in stir-fry or pasta — and scattered atop your favorite salad. 

With the added boost of flavor and color in what could be an otherwise ordinary salad, it's often difficult to decide how much of any one new ingredient to use. With black sesame seeds, a little goes a long way: 1-2 tablespoons is all you need. Rich in fatty oils and antioxidants, they're a natural fit for your next dinner salad.

Related: Ingredient Spotlight: Black Sesame Paste

(Images: The First Mess )