Sugar Snap Salad with Miso Dressing
- Table salt for pot
- ½ pound (225 grams) sugar snap peas, untrimmed
- ½ pound (225 grams) Napa cabbage, in thin ribbons (about 3 cups)
- 4 ounces (115 grams) radishes (4 medium-large), julienned, or quartered and thinly sliced
- 3 large scallions (about ½ bundle), white and green parts, thinly sliced on bias
- 3 tablespoons (⅞ ounce or 24 grams) sesame seeds, well toasted (300-degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes)
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons (1¼ ounce or 36 grams) mild yellow or white miso, plus up to 1 more tablespoon (⅝ ounce or 18 grams) to taste
- 2 tablespoons (⅝ ounce or 16 grams) sesame seed paste or tahini
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ cup (60 ml) rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable or olive oil
Instructions:
Sesame-miso is a game changer, a substance so delicious, so nutty and salty and toasty and sweet at once, that you start ordering salads just to get to it.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and prepare a small ice-water bath. Boil the sugar snaps for about 2 minutes, or until just barely cooked but still crisp. Scoop them out with a large slotted spoon, and drop them in the ice-water bath. Once they’re cool, drain and pat dry. Trim ends and cut sugar snaps on bias into thin slices. Toss in large bowl with cabbage, radishes, scallions, and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds.
- Whirl all ingredients, using the smaller amount of miso, in a blender until smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients—use the extra tablespoon miso if desired. Don’t fret if it is a tad salty, and try to resist the urge to compensate with extra honey. The sugar snaps have a mellow sweetness to them that balances well with a saltier-than-normal dressing.
- Toss salad with half of dressing, and taste. Use more if you desire, which I bet you do. If not, be delighted that you will have extra for your next salad. Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. Dig in.