sugar snap pea salad with miso dressing

Life happenings/observations lately:

1) It’s been cold here. You know this. But what you don’t know is that because of said cold, I’ve upped my not-leaving-the-house-today attractiveness by wrapping my yoga pants/baggy sweatshirt-clad self in a blanket, kind of like an adult-size burrito, and walking/sitting like that inside all day. SO COOL, I am. But also, not freezing.

2) If someone could invent a completely non-alcoholic red wine that actually tastes like decent red wine and could ship me about a trillion bottles of it, I’d be so, so happy. Non-alcoholic Manhattans would be great, too. Oh, and sushi. BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL I WANT. Sigh.

3) Can we talk about maternity leggings? I’m not going to lie, guys, they’re amazing. Good talk.

4) I’m turning into that person who watches — nay, binges on — Friday Night Lights greatly in part because I have a weird marriage-crush on the Taylors but also: Tim Riggins. The end.

5) I made this salad, and it was like the salad angels opened wide the heavens and rained down into the salad all the magical deliciousness that a salad could possibly have. The end again.

Salads have been making more and more of an appearance in our household lately because for one, they’re good for you and for two, they are a great way to get that daily dose of veggies. I’ve been trying to meet my veg quota every day for a few months now and guess what? I actually feel better because I’m meeting it. Who’da thunk? Veggies = healthful goodness feelings.

So, we’ve been replacing our usual dinner go-tos like enchiladas and pasta with things like this brussels sprouts and kale salad (SO GOOD), this BLT chopped salad (OMG) and now, this sugar snap pea salad. It’s got a crunch factor that I can’t get enough of, and it’s doused in that dressing you get on your appetizer salad at those Teppanyaki grill-style Japanese restaurants where they cook in front of you and it gets really awkward when they flip the egg over and over with a spatula (to show their cooking skills, apparently) but it accidentally falls too soon and breaks right onto the grill. YOU know.

Now generally yes, I like to keep my recipes on here within the realm of seasonality and I know this recipe so isn’t. But every once in a while, a recipe just sounds too good for me to pass it up based on season. And so, this salad came to be on a cold January weeknight. And it was welcomed with open arms (and mouths).

Of course, if you want some seasonality, you can serve it with Cara Cara orange segments (which I tried for the first time recently thanks to inspiration from this gal and it was instant love) and it will be a very good idea. Just like the adult-size burrito blanket.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Miso Dressing

• Author: Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

For the salad:

• 1/2 lb sugar snap peas
• 1/2 lb Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
• 4 medium-large radishes, thinly sliced
• 3 large green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted (in a 300 degrees F oven for 10 minutes)

For the dressing:

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons sweet white miso, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons tahini or sesame seed paste
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

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Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop snap peas into water; boil 2 minutes until bright-green and softened but still crisp. Drain, then immediately transfer to an ice-water bath in a medium bowl and let cool completely. Drain, then pat dry. Chop peas into thin slices and place in a large bowl.
2. Add sliced cabbage, radishes and green onions to bowl. Toss lightly.
3. Combine all ingredients for dressing in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more miso as needed.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad, then toss lightly again. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

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