Spring slaw + miso dressing

This is a super simple salad that is more about what looks good at the market than a specific recipe. It's more a formula: chopped veggies + interesting dressing = eating more seasonal vegetables in a delightful way!

You could easily add in some ribboned greens or cabbage or thinly sliced fennel or use grated carrot. I like the slight peppery bite of the radishes with the miso dressing. Plus, that pink red color is amazing. And sugar snap peas win for the cutest vegetable this time of year.

Aside from some chopping, this slaw comes together easily. You could go the uber fancy route and julienne on a mandoline, but I tend to like the meditation of the knife and cutting board route. Happy spring to you!

PS: I also included a short little video of the recipe steps. You'll get a glance at my sometimes not so tidy way of cooking ; ) 

Spring slaw + miso dressing
serves 4

2 beets, peeled
1 bunch of radishes, trimmed
1/2 lb sugar snap peas
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Miso-sesame dressing (adaped ever so slightly from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook): 
2 TBS rice vinegar
2 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 TBS honey
1 inch chunk of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium garlic clove, peeled and chopped
2 TBS tahini
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 TBS white miso (maybe a little more or less based on taste) *if you're avoiding soy, look for garbanzo miso

The easiest way to get matchsticks from a round vegetable is to trim the end, so you have a flat surface and it won't roll away. With the veggie sitting steady, cut thin planks. Then, stack the planks and cut across to get thin matchsticks. You'll do this with the beets and radishes. Set aside in a large bowl. 

For the sugar snap peas, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prep a medium bowl with ice water. Submerge the peas for 1-2 minutes and then transfer to the ice water. Let them sit until they're cold and then remove. Slice on the bias into thin rounds. Add to your bowl along with the green onions. 

To make the dressing, combine all ingredients into a small food processor (a smallish blender and/ or immersion blender would work too) and blend until smooth. Add a tablespoon or two of water if too thick. Taste for saltiness and add more miso if you'd like. I like it best on the tad salty side as this balances the sweet and bitter from the veggies.

A small note: You'll get extra dressing with the recipe above. You can cut the quantities in half to get just enough for this combo of salad.