Chopped Asian Salad
with Orange Miso Dressing

This chopped asian salad with orange miso dressing was thrown together with ingredients from my weekly Hungry Harvest delivery. Hungry Harvest sources perfectly edible excess or imperfect produce destined for the landfill. So, this is a garbage salad.

Every week the box contents change. I make a spontaneous garbage salad combining a leafy green, fruit, and assorted vegetables. (this week it was tomatoes and snap peas.)

This seasonal winter salad is fresh and crunchy. It also functions as a delivery system for orange miso dressing.

Chopped Asian Salad with Orange Miso Dressing Success Guide:

If your greens are ever wilted, soak them in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes to perk them up.

Kale is a great meal-prep salad green because it benefits from being dressed in advance. Massaging the dressing into the kale softens it so it feel less like chewing hay.

Meal Pairings:

Chopped Asian Salad + Brown, Black, or Forbidden Rice
Chopped Asian Salad + Boiled or fried egg
Chopped Asian Salad + Miso Soup
Chopped Asian Salad + Seared Tofu
Chopped Asian Salad + Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients

Never chain yourself to a “recipe”for salad. You can replace or add any ingredient. Good dressing has a way of tying things together

Salad
1 bunch or 10oz bag of kale or any salad green
1 (10oz) bag sugar snap peas
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 Pears (any kind) or Apples
1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed in a bowl of warm water
Avocados (for serving with)

Orange Miso Dressing
Zest and juice of 1 orange (should yield 1/2 cup of juice*)
2 tbs Rice wine vinegar
1 tbs canola oil, or any neutral oil
1 tsp Sesame oil
2 tbs white miso paste

*if your orange is dry and yields less than 1/2 cup, supplement with bottled or extra vinegar/ citrus juice.

Step-by-step Instructions

Zest and juice 1 orange into a medium bowl. Add rice wine vinegar, canola oil, sesame oil, and miso paste. Whisk to combine and set aside.
If using a bunch of kale, separate stems from leaves. If greens are wilted, soak in a bowl of cold water for 20-30 minutes to perk them up. *If using a bag of salad greens, just toss into bowl
Dry, finely chop kale, and place into serving bowl. Add 1/4 cup of dressing, and massage with your hands to soften. Skip this step if using a more tame green like arugula or spinach
Toss ingredients into bowl as you go. Half cherry tomatoes, dice pears, chop snap peas, and drain edamame.
Serve with avocado slices and remaining dressing

click images to enlarge