Miso Dressed Spring Radish and Carrot Salad with Toasted Almonds

I was recently at a Japanese fusion restaurant, and I had a salad with the most delicious miso dressing.  I had no idea what it was composed of besides the miso, but it was the perfect balance of salty and sweet lightly and coated the greens perfectly.  It was so good that I have been wanting to recreate it ever since then, and finally decided to do so.   I am a big miso lover, I use it in everything from the obvious, such as soups, and marinades, to the not so obvious such as in desserts, to which it gives a lovely salted caramel like flavor.  It is one ingredient that I always have to have on hand.  Although there are many varieties of it, I prefer the white miso.  It was no wonder that dressing at the restaurant was delicious, miso makes everything more tasty!  When I tried to recreate the dressing, I kept with the Asian theme and added some peanut oil, because I love its nutty quality, some rice wine vinegar for acidity, and agave nectar for a bit of sweetness.  Tamari was needed for a bit of salt in addition to the saltiness of the miso, so no sea salt was needed in this dressing.  Lastly, garlic was important, I  love its flavor in salads, especially Asian ones.  What to pair with this delicious miso dressing?  Well I thought the veggies of spring would be appropriate, so the radishes, carrots and ramps in addition to the greens I had on hand were perfect!  Lastly I topped it off with almonds for crunch!  It was very simple, but so good!  Here is the recipe if you would like to try some for yourself!

Miso Dressed Spring Radish and Carrot Salad with Toasted Almonds
Serves 2

Dressing:
1 Tbsp white miso
1 Tbsp peanut oil
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp agave nectar
1 clove garlic
2 tsp tamari

4 cups mixed greens, such as arugula, spinach, dandelion, mizuna
1 carrot, thinly sliced on the diagonal
6 radishes, thinly sliced
4 ramps, thinly sliced
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

In a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients together.  In a large bowl, combine greens, carrots, radishes, and ramps.  Pour dressing over and toss well to coat.  Place mixture on a serving plate, and top with toasted almonds.