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You are here: Home / Salads / Fresh Asparagus Salad with Oranges & Ginger Miso Dressing Recipe

Fresh Asparagus Salad with Oranges & Ginger Miso Dressing Recipe

March 25, 2017

I think I’ve lost count with how many salads we’ve made this year. I know it’s a lot. I suppose I could always take a look in the Salads category on this blog to find out. I’ll tell you this – I’ve made a lot of really good ones. If I had to guess, I’d say my favorites so far were:

Black Rice Salad with Apple, Snow Peas & Ginger Vinaigrette Recipe

Warm Beet, Orange & Black Olive Salad Recipe

Parmesan, Radicchio & Chickpea Orzo Salad Recipe

I really like those orzo salads. You can pack a lot of flavor in them. This recipe (the one I’m writing right now) was good as well though, so we’ll have to put it near the top.

Fresh Asparagus Salad with Oranges & Ginger Miso Dressing Recipe

The Recipe

Today’s recipe is one that Laura scouted out and found online. The website she got it from is called Cafe Johnsonia and it can be found here. It’s a really well thought out recipe and has got a lot of interesting ingredients in it. What struck me right off the bat was how the asparagus was cut so small and was kept raw. Second was the use of oranges, which I’ve been taking advantage of a lot anyway and third was the really great tasting vinaigrette.

As I move through the salad recipes, I’m finding a fairly consistent pattern. In the most basic sense, there’s some sort of a protein or carbohydrate, such as quinoa, rice, orzo or something like that. Then, there’s a firm vegetable, such as asparagus, beets or snap peas. Perhaps there’s something sweet like oranges, apples or blueberries and finally, there’s the vinaigrette. While the salad ingredients themselves are oftentimes very tasty, it’s generally the vinaigrette that sets them apart from everything else. If you were to go to a restaurant and eat a memorable salad like this, it would most likely be the vinaigrette or sauce you remember most.

See also  Orzo Salad with Roasted Pepper, Black Olives & Feta Recipe

Today’s salad is great. While it includes the combination I just mentioned above, it’s also got a sweet, yet tangy vinaigrette. With the use of 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of miso, it packs a punch.

Ingredients

Serves: 4-6


For the Salad

1 Pound Fresh Asparagus
3 Cups Cooked Quinoa
2 Medium Sized Oranges, Peeled, Segments Separated and Cut in Half
1 Large Avocado, Sliced Thinly
2 Teaspoons Zest From the Oranges
1/2 Cup Pecans, Toasted

For the Vinaigrette

2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 Tablespoon Light Miso
1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup or Honey
1/4 Teaspoon Garlic, Minced

Step-by-Step Instructions

If you take a look at the website I linked to above, you’ll notice that I substituted some ingredients. We had a few similar ingredients on hand and I wanted to use them up. So, if you’re interested, please feel free to use blood oranges and almonds. Also, perhaps you enjoy the flavor of extra-virgin olive oil. If so, use that instead of the avocado oil. Use real ginger instead of the ground version and the maple syrup instead of the honey. There are many variations to this recipe, which is one of the reasons I was so attracted to it.

Prepare the Vinaigrette

In a medium sized bowl, add the lime juice, avocado oil, ginger, miso, honey and garlic. Whisk together well and set aside for later use.

Ginger Miso Dressing

Prep the Salad Ingredients

Trim the ends from the asparagus. Then, slice each stalk into 1/4 inch pieces and place in a medium sized bowl.


Chopped Fresh Raw Aspragus

Cook the Quinoa

To prepare the quinoa, follow the instructions on the packaging of the product you purchased. In general, you use 2 cups of water to 1 cup of quinoa. Boil the water over high heat in a medium sized saucepan, add the quinoa, lower the heat to medium low, cover the pot and let simmer for 15 minutes. That’s what I did for this recipe and that should get you where you need to be.

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When finished with this step, remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside.

Cooked Quinoa

Prep the Oranges

Peel the oranges. Then, separate each piece from one another. After that, cut each piece in half and place in a medium sized bowl. If you have the time and patience, you can actually remove the insides of each piece from the outer membrane. This is what you might want to do if you have guests over or something like that. For us, it was a casual night, so we left the membranes in tact.

Pieces of Orange Segments

Toast the Pecans

Warm a small skillet over medium heat. When it’s to temperature, add the pecans. Keep tossing them for a few minutes until you begin to smell them and they begin to brown. When that happens, remove the pan from the heat.


Combine Ingredients

In a large bowl, add the quinoa, asparagus, orange pieces and half the vinaigrette. Toss until everything is combined well.

Quinoa, Asparagus and Orange Salad in Large Bowl

Plate & Add Remaining Ingredients

Divide the ingredients in the large bowl between your serving bowls. Then, place a few slices of avocado on top of each serving and sprinkle some pecans on top of that. Finally, add some orange zest to each and then divide the remaining vinaigrette between the bowls and serve.

The Final Salad

I must say, this is a very attractive salad. I’d be proud to serve this to anyone. I’d also expect some compliments for all my hard work. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

Avocado, Pecan and Ginger Salad

See also  Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries & Feta Cheese Recipe

Related posts:

  1. Red Rice & Quinoa Salad with Oranges and Dates Recipe
  2. Fresh Cucumber, Asparagus & Dill Salad Recipe
  3. Basmati Rice Salad with Oranges, Green Olives & Pecans Recipe
  4. Cucumber, Tomato & Herb Salad with a Creamy Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe
  5. Ginger Spiced Broccoli Rabe & Portobello Mushroom Recipe

Filed Under: Salads

About Jay Gaulard

My name is Jay Gaulard and I'm what I like to call an "inexperienced chef," if that's not an oxymoron. I initially decided to immerse myself into the world of food and cooking in May of 2015, when I began growing, in earnest, my first garden. The garden produced a wonderful yield and with some newfound confidence, my hobby of learning about what I eat took shape. Currently, I'm enrolled in an online cooking school and am quite active with the culinary community. I primarily write posts about what I research and learn along the way.

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