Sesame seeds

Toasted sesame seeds add a really lovely savoury taste to a salad, as well as a little mouth-popping texture. However, toasting them can be a little messy as they pop all over the stove. In Japan, they have a special ceramic ‘pot’ that they toast seeds in. It has a lid and a spout – rather like an eccentric teapot. Assuming that you don’t have such an implement, you can toast them either in the oven at 160°C (325°F/Gas mark 3) until golden or in small quantities in a saucepan with a lid. Shake them over a medium heat and when most have turned golden brown, tip them out to cool. You can also buy fabulous pre-toasted sesame seeds from Japanese and Korean food stores.