Roast chicken salad with avocado and lemony miso dressing

Anyone who ever hated on salad obviously did not know its true purpose: an excuse to eat crunchy, salty, fatty foods while pretending to be healthy. As long as you layer cheese, nuts and meat with greens, you’ve got a salad. And that’s why I make a salad almost every day for lunch. So expect a lot of it on this blog.

This particular salad is an excuse to eat bits of roast chicken with avocado and roasted almonds, all smothered in miso and lemon juice. It’s crunchy, salty, tangy, a little creamy and very satisfying. Make it when you have leftover roast or grilled chicken. Or do as I did, and buy roast chicken just for this salad.

As for the dressing, I know, miso paste isn’t exactly a refrigerator staple unless you’re Japanese, but a tub of it goes  a long way, especially if you’re going to keep making this RIDICULOUSLY EASY salad dressing. Just FYI, it makes any combination of vegetables rich, salty and delicious, especially those of the crunchy-cool variety, like cucumbers, peppers and carrots. So double the amount and keep a jar in the fridge. And if you really like salty, try eating it by the spoonful (seriously).

This salad is a great vehicle for summer vegetables, so keep it in mind for the next few months, and add bell pepper, cucumbers and summer corn as they come into season. You can also eliminate the greens (it will last longer in the fridge), make it vegetarian by subbing in HB egg for the chicken or even nix the chicken altogether and make it vegan.

Ingredients

For the salad

• 3/4 cup roast chicken (or chicken from 2 pieces, i.e. a breast and thigh)
• 2 large handfuls of mixed greens (I used a mix of baby kale and spinach)
• 2 carrots
• 1/4 small red onion
• 1/2 cup edamame
• handful smoked almonds, chopped (roasted almonds are also fine)
• 1/2 avocado

For the dressing

• 4 tablespoons miso paste
• juice from 1 large lemon

How to:

1. Prepare your salad ingredients: shred the chicken, grate the carrots and peel and slice the onion. I always soak red onion in water and vinegar to pickle it a little before eating it raw. Slice the avocado into thin wedges.
2. Defrost the edamame in a microwave if using frozen (as I did). It should defrost in about a minute. You can also steam it if you don’t want to use a microwave.
3. Prepare your dressing: juice the lemon, and combine with miso paste using a fork. The dressing should  be thick but pourable. If it’s too thick, add more lemon or a little water.
4. Combine all salad ingredients, except for the avocado. Toss with dressing and place avocado wedges on top. Season with a little salt and pepper. Serves 2.