Noma’s Herb and Flower Salad with Lemon Verbena Kombucha Vinaigrette
A delicate arrangement of fresh herbs and edible flowers — lemon verbena, wood sorrel, nasturtium, bronze fennel, and borage — dressed with a light vinaigrette made from lemon verbena kombucha and cold-pressed oil. This salad is built around the principle, central to The Noma Guide to Fermentation, that kombucha can serve as a sophisticated acid in dressings, bringing with it carbonation, complex tannins, and the aromatic character of whatever it was brewed from. Lemon verbena kombucha is particularly suited to delicate herb salads because it tastes of sunlight and citrus without overpowering the flowers.
Ingredients (serves 4)
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Lemon verbena leaves | 20 g |
| Wood sorrel (or sheep sorrel) | 30 g |
| Nasturtium leaves and flowers | 30 g |
| Bronze fennel fronds | 20 g |
| Borage flowers | small handful |
| Fresh tarragon | 10 g |
| Chervil | 10 g |
| Cucumber, peeled and very thinly sliced | ½ |
| Green gooseberries or thinly sliced green apple | 60 g |
| For kombucha vinaigrette | |
| Lemon verbena kombucha (unflavoured kombucha works) | 4 tbsp |
| Lemon juice, freshly squeezed | 1 tbsp |
| Cold-pressed rapeseed oil | 3 tbsp |
| Elderflower syrup or honey | 1 tsp |
| Flaky sea salt | small pinch |
Method
- Make the vinaigrette: measure kombucha into a small bowl. Add lemon juice and elderflower syrup. Whisk in rapeseed oil slowly to create a light, slightly broken emulsion. Season with a tiny pinch of flaky salt. Taste — it should be bright, floral, and barely sweet. Refrigerate until service.
- Wash all herbs and flowers in cold water, then spin dry very gently. Lay out on a clean towel and refrigerate until needed.
- Slice cucumber paper-thin (mandoline ideal). Lightly salt, rest 5 minutes, then pat dry.
- If using gooseberries, halve them. If using apple, cut into thin matchsticks and toss with a drop of lemon juice.
- Arrange herbs, flowers, and cucumber on chilled plates — pile loosely rather than pressing flat; height and airiness are important.
- Tuck gooseberries or apple into the arrangement. Spoon vinaigrette over just before serving; use a light hand as delicate flowers bruise quickly.
- Finish with a few extra drops of rapeseed oil and a final pinch of flaky salt.
Notes
- Lemon verbena kombucha can be made by adding a handful of fresh verbena leaves to plain kombucha during the second fermentation (24–48 hours in a sealed bottle at room temperature).
- Wood sorrel has natural citric acid — taste the dressing after adding it to the salad and adjust vinegar accordingly.
- This salad must be assembled and served immediately; it cannot wait.
- The vinaigrette also works brilliantly with a cold poached salmon fillet laid across the herbs.
Dressing: Noma-Lemon-Verbena-Kombucha-Vinaigrette