Smitten Kitchen

My daughter made this for a family dinner, and it was an instant hit. We have eaten this dressing in a favorite Japanese restaurant and couldn’t believe that she found it online.

It is a vibrant, restaurant-style blended dressing poured over fresh lettuce, sliced red onion, and tender avocado.

DRESSING
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger. (If you don’t want as loud of a ginger bite, use one tablespoon instead of two.) 
2 tablespoons white miso
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
1/4 cup grape seed or another neutral oil
2 tablespoons water
ASSEMBLY
1 small/medium head of lettuce (I used Bibb)
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 avocado, quartered and thinly sliced

Make the dressing: Whiz the carrots, shallot and ginger in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides, then add the miso, vinegar and sesame oil. While the machine running, slowly drizzle in the grape seed oil and the water.

Assemble salad: Trim and chop lettuce into small wedges. Arrange on a platter. Scatter onion and avocado on top. If you’d like, sprinkle some flaky sea salt and black pepper over the salad at this point. Dollop with plenty of dressing and serve with remaining dressing on the side.