Heidi -Have you been able to find Miso made from non-GMO soybeans?

HS: indeed! There are a good number of organic misos available.

I just made this (with minor modifications–fried capers in place of olives, almonds instead of pepitas and no beans) and it was GENIUS. Reading the ingredients for the dressing I was a bit hesitant, I almost omitted and tweaked, but I ended up following the dressing recipe and now I have found my favorite dressing as well as my favorite salad. Thank you for sharing this brilliant dish!

This sounds fantastic. With all the right ingredients in one bowl, sometimes nothing beats a “simple” salad.

This salad is the BEST I ever had!

This would be a different and awesome meal to bring to friend in need or a new mom. Lots of people bring dinner but I think this healthy salad would be a welcome gift. Thanks for sharing!

Just wanted to tell you how much I LOVE your site! I have followed 101CB for a while now and am a huge fan- of your recipes, of your writing, of your photos… I love it all! Thank you for all your inspiration- truly a joy learning from someone who is GREAT at what they do!

HS: Thanks for the nice note Emily – and thanks to all of you for pushing me to come up with (and share) new ideas…love trying to keep it fresh for all of you. xo

Quick question, Heidi, by the way my daughter’s name is Heidi, anyhooo, love your new book, and notice as in this recipe you use avocado, I am finding that in avocados I have been having to toss about 1 in every 3 I am buying, am a new user of avocados and am wondering if it is me or the avocados?? they are black inside when I cut them open, am I ripening them too much? or were they bad to start with, just how do you be sure it is a good avocado to start with?? love the sounds of this recipe, and will be making it very soon, thank you so much…..

HS: Hi Barbara – it sounds like you’re buying avocados that are over-ripe. First off, don’t be afraid to ask the produce person to help you pick the perfect ones until you get a better feel for it. I typically hold one in my palm and gently squeeze. You can get a sense of how ripe the flesh is this way, and if you can imagine a knife sliding through, you’re likely a-ok. If it’s still rock hard? Not ripe. If the avocado feels as if you could make it collapse – too ripe. If I need to hold them a few extra days before using – they go in the refrigerator.

I loved this dressing! I have been playing with the white miso for all type of dressings. I used it with honey, balsamic, rice wine vinegar and a little sesame oil thinned with water. I thin maybe some dried chili flakes as well. Also it is great as a marinade! I almost have gone through a whole tub and have never actually used for soup! The cumin was really nice addition here and I love the creaminess as well

love love love healthy hearty crunchy salads for lunch! it’s what i look forward to all morning and what sustains me all afternoon. i make a huge glass tupperware of salad to take to work daily. a variety of coleslaws also keep well: beet and carrot or apple and fennel and kohlrabi… if I make my lunch the night before a bit of lemon juice on sliced apple keeps it fresh. the ingredients also do well with asian inspired dressings. otherwise legumes, nuts and hard crumbled cheese are also always great additions. love your photos, love your food philosophy.

Great idea for lunch. I like that it will hold for the a few hours so I can just bring it to work already dressed. Thanks for the post.

Yum! I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and I love the combination of healthy and satisfying I find in your recipes. This is a salad I would enjoy eating in a world where I usually suffer through them or cover them with sesame sticks. Lovely photos, as always. I love your countertops.

Just wanted to say that I made this last night and it was amazing. In the haze of the grocery store I forgot to buy arugula but did have lacinato (dinosaur or black) kale in the fridge. Sliced that into thin ribbons and it worked perfectly.
Can’t wait for leftovers for lunch today.

It is so funny, I prefer certain types of salads at different times of year. This one does seem ideal for late-February for sure. I instantly smiled when I saw the photograph. Beautiful!

Crunch and substance. Perfect words to describe the ideal hearty lunch salad. And that dressing looks awesome!

Love the sound of that miso dressing. I have some miso languishing in the back of the pantry that I’ve been meaning to use, and this will be the perfect use! Thanks.

Hmmmmm Yummy! I know I will love this salad.

This sounds and looks incredible! I love your other suggestions that you’ve offered in the comments.

Heidi, your posts somehow are always so timely for my life. I just had a dreamy dressing at my fave Asian restaurant last weekend, but couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to make it (but I’m craving it!). Lo and behold, I think your dressing is It. THANK YOU! Can’t wait to try it on this salad. Cheers to Quitokeeto success!

Here it comes, the kind of question that makes me cringe, but now it’s my own: am allergic to soy – would you recommend a substitution for the miso, or best to simply leave it out? Many thanks!

HS: You can leave it out – or maybe do a version with thinned out salted almond butter or something along those lines. Different, but likely tasty.

I too have been making hearty salads for lunch- it has reached that point in the winter here in Maine where I am craving fresh greens, even if they come from another country. This is inspiring and I look forward to spinning off of it. I also want to say how inspiring the packaging was on the brass hex opener I received in the mail from Quitoquito the other week- I almost saved the invoice in case I ever needed inspiration on how to make in invoice feel personal and show abundant gratitude! So i just want to let you know at least one customer wholeheartedly appreciated the attention to detail you gave the box, postage, wrapping, and the invoice! Thank you!

HS: Thanks Alana! It definitely makes me happy when I hear the packages are finding their way across the country. Here’s to many beverages opened amongst friends w/ the brass hex!

No miso on hand…..any suggestions for a substitute. Thanks,

This sounded so delicious until the olives. I loathe them. What would you suggest to give the same salty briney taste…capers perhaps?

HS: Hi Ella – I love (deeply) pan-fried capers. I suspect those would be nice here in place of the olives 🙂

Ohhh yes, this looks like just what I need! Thanks for posting a salad that will stand up in a container until lunch and still be crispy and delicious!

This looks delicious! I am always looking for new salads and am excited to try this one.

This looks so yummy! Do you think the dressing would still work with Greek yogurt instead of the plain yogurt? It’s all I have at home right now.

HS: Hi Meredith, absolutely – and if the texture is too thick, just thin with a bit of water, milk, cream, etc. and readjust the seasonings.

This hearty salad is right up my alley. I love using from what is available and finding the results to be (sometimes) surprising and fantastic. Sublime!
ps – I love how you painstakingly packaged the treasures from QUITOKEETO… effort not wasted. So lovely that they will be photographed to include in my next blog story.

HS: !! 🙂 I’ll keep my eyes peeled Melina! Looking forward to seeing them in your lovely photos. And thank you for the nice note.

This salad looks wonderful & the dressing sounds amazing. I am preparing a Crunchy Vietnamese Cabbage Salad tonight and I will be using this dressing. Thanks for sharing! One day, I just know I will get one of those knives from QUITOKEETO before they sell out!

HS: I’m so sorry Kristin – it remains shocking to me how quickly they go. The good news is, we have a sizable shipment coming in soon.

hi heidi!
I have a newfound appreciation for non-fussy meals that hit the spot (veggie packed, healthy, and satisfying).
Before, I used to try to tend towards aspirational meals or try new things and techniques, but these days I’m so grateful for the simple and healthy meals that grace my plate.
Thank you for sharing more about the meals you make when things get a bit busy. Loving it! And good luck with the mountains of boxes!

Emminently customisable, full of different textures and flavours and that dressing is the stuff that salad dreams are made of (and I can even veganise it 🙂 ). Love the recipe and the fact you use it to recharge after a particularly stressful busy morning. 🙂

Heidi, I love literally everything I’ve ever made off this site, but I have to say, you’re smoking something with these prep times. Maybe their should be a disclaimer: Prep time: 10 min (team of chopping elves included) :)-

HS: Hah – this made me laugh. I will admit, I’m a focused (and pretty efficient) chopper 😉

I’m trying to up my lunch game, Heidi, to incorporate more veg and salads, and this is a perfect way for me to turn over a new leaf 🙂 Starting right now. Thanks!

This looks like my kind of salad. Although I am not a huge fan of creamy dressings I am leaning towards substituting with my lemon, olive oil and cumin dressing.

this dressing sounds awesome! i’ll have to keep an eye out for mirin. photos are amazing as always.

Extremely versitile salad/dressing: I can imagine hundreds of variations, by adding some crisp apple, carrot, zuchini, and even fresh mushroom slices at times….

Love the dressing!
Ellen, you can eat goat and feta as long as it’s pausterized. At least that’s what my midwife told me when I was pregnant with my kids.

Looks wonderful ..that dressing looks out of this world.

Ohhhh, this salad looks amazing. I too want to make the dressing more vegan–was thinking of using either a nut-based cream as Marci suggested or was wondering if tahini would work as a substitute for yogurt? I really enjoy your blog and the photos.

HS: Or just substitute your favorite non-dairy dressing. Actually, maybe a coconut milk version would be fun to experiment with? In place of the yogurt? Might be worth a try….

Deaaaaaaaaaaar God, yes.

Could I forego the heavy cream if I used Greek yogurt? I never seem to keep cream in the frig and always have yogurt around.

HS: You can skip it altogether. That said, I really love the mouthfeel it brings here, and the way it thins the dressing out just the right amount.

Heidi, can you tell us the difference between white miso and regular miso? Whole Foods wasn’t able to help me and they only had regular, but your cookbook and recipes often use white. Are they interchangeable?

HS: Hi India – there’s not really a short answer here. Getting to know the spectrum of available misos can be a bit daunting. There is white, brown, red, barley, brown rice, and on and on, and on….Here’s the wikipedia …some are much saltier than others, and each has a distinct flavor. I’m not sure what they have labelled as “regular” but if in doubt, just by a miso that looks good or interesting, and add a bit at a time, until the flavor is too your liking….Sometimes I even blend misos….say, a sweet white miso with the deeper-flavor of an aged red miso. It’s a whole world of flavor to explore for sure. Hope this helps at least a bit?

What I love most about this post is the alternative suggestion for arugula! I worked through a bunch and decided its just not my thing, however its flavor and profile is so unique I get stumped for substitutes!:)

I’m so loving that you’re posting more everyday meals! I love that they’re still super healthy options for busy on the go people!

This looks like it would be fantastic with some shredded Brussels sprouts in place of, or in addition to, the arugula. And tossed with some soba noodles for dinner. Yum!

I can’t wait to make this salad, and looking forward to checking out brown rice vinegar. I love rice vinegar but haven’t tried that. Thank you!

Such a lovely combination of green and crunch. And I have to say, your dressings never fail me – original and delicious.

Love the idea of using miso and yoghurt as dressing! 🙂

Thanks so much for this! I’m pregnant and have to avoid my usual salads with feta or goat cheese – but I won’t miss those a bit with this delicious recipe.

Delicious!! To veganize the dressing I think I’ll just use cashew cream and thinn it out a bit. Can’t wait to taste it.

This salad looks amazing! I can’t wait to try the miso dressing, I keep seeing recipes for it but just haven’t mustered the nerve to actually purchase some miso 🙂

Oh, that dressing looks just lovely! I’ve already been craving salads even though we’re still in a deep freeze here in my neck of the woods. I think I’ll be tossing a big bowl of greens with this dressing sometime very soon.

I love how green the salad is!
So many times I find myself trying to eat a rainbow of colors, that I lose the green freshness of my salad. It looks amazing, and sounds like a great contrast of flavors and textures. 🙂

Lots of good stuff indeed and that dressing sounds divine!

Love this kind of salads!
I like to add peanut butter to miso dressing.
Hope you have fun on your “packing days”.

yum! this does look like an ideal salad!

This is my favourite type of lunch – simple and healthy! I must use broccoli in salads more, it tends to take a back seat when it comes salads..

Thanks for this post, Heidi. It’s that time of year when I’m feeling a bit out of ideas on the ‘must…eat…veggies…’ front. What’s available is limited, and ideas for new combinations are always appreciated. The dressing sounds perfect. Can’t wait to try this tomorrow! Also, a tip, re: Broccoli: For the first time in my life I have a microwave and actually learned a great trick for blanching broccoli from a friend: I simply put the chopped florets in a microwave-safe bowl, add about 1/2 inch of water, loosely cover with cling wrap and microwave for about 60 seconds. It seems to steam the broccoli the perfect amount, keeping it bright and crunchy but tender–with the added bonus of not having to haul out a pot, boil water, etc. I find myself adding broccoli (and cauliflower) to salads much more frequently now. I hate it raw, but it’s great and fuss-free this way. I’ve never been a fan of microwaving food, but I figure consuming more veggies probably offsets the downside. Do you have/use a microwave? It’s so convenient, but I always feel like I’m cheating 🙁

The dressing sounds wonderful – how nice that this salad holds up for longer than 10 min!

Looks great, I like the idea of the miso dressing

Truly a gorgeous salad! That dressing sounds absolutely fabulous!

thank you! i’m always looking for new ideas for lunch and here is where i find them. you changed the way i cook and eat, heidi, i wanted to tell you this for a long time. thanks! 🙂

Heidi, do you think that the dressing would keep for a few days in the fridge?

HS: It will!

It looks so green, fresh, and…fluffy! And the pepitas probably add a fabulous crunch. Mmm, nice and healthy!

Structure and crunch, that’s all I’m looking for in a salad.
I love the use of blanched broccoli here as well as the pepitas. Makes for a great combo!