It’s funny how much changes when you get old and have a baby. Just a few years ago, we used to spend Friday nights sitting outside at happy hours or out dancing until 2am. Currently, my favorite Friday night tradition is getting takeout from my favorite Fremont restaurant – Revel.
They are not vegan-friendly in the least, and there are really only two dishes we can even eat there. But those two dishes are perhaps my favorite in all of Seattle. Every week I get the same thing, and every week I look forward to it. We always start with the hearts of palm salad – spinach, peanuts, hearts of palm, and smoked lentils topped with a tangy miso dressing.
Miso is an ingredient that I don’t use very often, but I’m really interested in using more. Everything I make with it I love, and I’m hoping to make more miso sauces and broths for your guys in the future!
Recently, I decided to overhaul our budget so that we can start adding a bigger percentage of our income to savings. In order to cut back on our restaurant spending, I decided to try making the famous Revel salad myself…
I changed a few things from the original, but it was really the dressing I was trying to capture. This is definitely the new favorite dressing in our house, and I have already used our entire tub of miso in less than two weeks!
Spinach Salad with Miso Dressing
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Ingredients (2 servings)
For the dressing
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon mirin (cooking wine)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground mustard
For the salad
- Spinach leaves
- 1 Granny Smith apple
- 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
Instructions
Whisk all ingredients together.
Drizzle over salad, and serve!
I love that this dressing is a little bit thicker than a traditional vinaigrette. It is absolutely packed with flavor, so a little goes a long way!
Going forward, I plan to keep a jar of this in my refrigerator (for up to a week per batch), so that I have it ready to shake up and drizzle whenever I can get my hands on some greens.
Enjoy!
35 Comments so far
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Yum – this looks amazing! Your blog has been so much fun to read lately – I love all the pictures of Cullen and you guys enjoying your time with him, and on top of it all, you have time to make more recipes! Awesome.
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This looks yummy! I’ve never tried to use Miso in anything at home but love it at restaurants. This is a must make!
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I love Revel and look forward to trying this at home!
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Yum! This sounds delicious.
A question: are you vegan now? I had thought you were vegetarian (according to your “About” page), but you said: “They are not vegan-friendly in the least, and there are really only two dishes we can even eat there.”
Are both you and Casey vegan now? I feel like I missed something!!!
Hope you’re enjoying your vacation. :)
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Julie (A Case of the Runs) Reply:
February 14th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
She’s posted that she eats eggs on occasion (the cage-free kind). Since most stuff contains dairy over eggs, it’s just easier to eat vegan sometimes.
That miso dressing looks great! Maybe you can broil a miso sauce with tofu or something…
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i have not cooked with miso much either — looks delicious!
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That list of ingredients sounds amazing! I will definitely make this. Would also be interested in seeing if you can recreate smoked lentils too. I am intrigued…
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I hate salad dressings that are too thin. That texture looks perfect!
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I just made Smitten Kitchen’s Carrot Ginger Miso soup and it was AMAZING! I had never cooked with miso before, and absolutely love the taste. I’m also excited about this recipe because I have half of the miso left over and didn’t know what to do with it. Thanks for the recipe, I look forward to the others!
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Miso adds incredible flavor to everything. It’s that umami factor. I’m definitely going to try this dressing!
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Potluck!
You bring this. Okay?
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I went to Revel for the first time a couple weeks ago and man have I been missing out! You should encourage them to make a vegetarian dumpling because they are amazing!!
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Funny how traditions evolve! We are such home bodies now. I do love the kids getting older now though because they can hang for a long time when we go over to friends’ houses or go out and stay a little later at restaurants. The salad dressing looks and sounds delicious!
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I actually saw miso at the fresh market this weekend. I thought about getting some but I didn’t know what to do with it! Now I know!
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I love miso dressing…I need to pick some up, but I’m not sure what else I would use it in!
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I love new dressing recipes! And it’s great that this will last in the fridge for up to a week.
Hope you guys are continuing your Hawaii fun!
~Emily~
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that looks fabulous! Last year I made a tofu miso soup – the original recipe came from 101 cookbooks and I’m sure you could make an amazing variation on it! http://www.simplylifeblog.com/?p=657
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Here is Hong Kong we eat a lot of Japanese. One of our favourite dishes that is always on the menu at Japanese restaurants here is Miso Eggplant. Since you love eggplant you should definitely try it! You need to find the big long Chinese/Asian eggplants as they are softer and cook faster – it is always serve on halves with the sweet miso glaze put on top and then baked or broiled.
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I love miso too, it’s delicious :) And this salad looks beautiful, thanks for sharing!
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I always look at the miso when I’m at Whole Foods but I still haven’t made the splurge! I love how simple this salad is. I’m currently obsessed with your favorite salad dressing recipe…I had it tonight on my salad with tofu! So I’m sure this one is a winner too :) Have a blast in Maui!
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I’ve been thinking about making a miso dressing, but now I don’t have to becuase you did the work for me! So pumped!
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I’ve been meaning to go to Revel!! Maybe I’ll just make your version instead!
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I am always, always looking for new salad dressing recipes. This one looks so good! And I just happen to have miso in my fridge that needs to be used. Perfect!
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I haven’t had too much miso, but I do like it in this sweet potato recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Japanese-Sweet-Potatoes-with-Scallion-Butter-240549
You should try them sometime, they are quite tasty.
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I love anything with miso, so I am I sure I will love this.
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The salad looks so refreshing and wonderful! Love the dressing!
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I’ve had miso soup beofre but never a miso dressing. Interesting, I will have to try it someday soon!
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Somehow, I just discovered your site (I must have been living under a rock). I write about being a vegan expectant mom (and lifestyle issues in general), and it’s so refreshing to see someone positively talking about living a plant-based active life! And this dressing looks delicious!
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Just made this dressing. Wow! It’s delish. Gonna dress my kale salad with it. Thanks!
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I’m completely obsessed with miso right now.
Veganomicon has a great “recipe” for a miso-tahini dressing – just equal parts white miso and tahini thinned out with water to taste. So good on salad or in stir fry or anything!
Definitely going to try this dressing too.
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Oooh yum! I am really wanting to use miso more myself too. Love this recipe, I can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
Heidi xo
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Miso is the best. Being that I have a cold, a cup of hot miso soup sounds GREAT!
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o.m.geeee this looks so good! I cant wait to try it!
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This salad dressing looks wonderful, I’m going to go mix it up right now! Brilliant!
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Came here after I noticed a can of lentils and hearts of palm In my pantry and figured they might go together. I have kale in my fridge and wonder if that could substitute for the spinach as someone else says. Can’t wait to try :)
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