Winter Salad, Miso & Ginger Dressing

KALE is one of the most nutrient-rich leafy green you could ever eat, and we’ve been eating this super food every which way possible, all in an effort to take better care of our body and soul in 2012. When Maggie asked me to do a post on a winter salad, I knew it had to be kale.

Not only is kale a winter-hardy veggie to grow in your backyard (yes! it will survive winter with very little help), we are even growing kale “micro-greens” and sprouts indoors.

Sorry for the slight detour, but it’s so great to be puttering in my “garden” while it’s snowing outside. Who needs to wait till spring to be growing fresh greens again?

Now back to the salad… Cut your kale into bite-size pieces. Be sure to trim off the tough center stem (and feed it to your critters).

Thinly slice a small radicchio and finely chop half of a shallot.

Shred a large carrot and cut up a blood orange. I love citrus in a salad; look at that color! Toss it all in a large salad bowl then make your dressing.

This dressing is creamy, rich and big on flavor. Combine equal parts of tahini, miso paste (I used red, but you can use any kind), and ginger syrup. We’ve been loving the ginger syrup from Eat Boutique’s gift box (thank you, Maggie!). If you don’t have, then substitute with honey and a bit of grated fresh ginger instead.

Add a little water and a squeeze of citrus to thin it down to a thick pourable consistency. Wasabi almonds found in the back of my fridge added a nice crunch to this salad.

This winter salad is heavier than your typical light green summer salad. It is chewy, “meaty” and hearty enough to be a main meal, or a perfect side to grilled salmon or chicken. This would be phenomenal in a fish taco with some fresh cilantro thrown in.

Winter Salad with Miso & Ginger Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 small bunch of kale
• 1 small radicchio
• 1 small shallot
• 1 large carrot
• 1 blood orange
• Sprinkle of almonds

Dressing (start off with 1 heaping tablespoon of each):

• 1 part miso paste
• 1 part tahini
• 1 part ginger syrup (or honey with 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger)
• Water and squeeze of citrus juice to thin

Directions:

1. Wash, slice, chop and trim your salad ingredients and place in salad bowl.
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix dressing ingredients together, adding a squeeze or two of citrus juice, and water to thin to a thick pourable consistency. Pour over the salad, toss and serve.

All photos styled and photographed by Jill Chen.

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Tagged as: blood orange, ginger, ginger syrup, grow micogreens and sprouts, kale, miso, morris kitchen, winter salad