Tempeh and Arugula Salad with a Mustard Miso Dressing

Power of beautiful food?

I adore Gena’s blog Choosing Raw, where she shares gorgeous food that is still down-to-earth, delicious and easy. I have made many of her recipes (there are too many to count, ok plus these, too), and I have bookmarked many more to try.

So around the time of my food funk and arugula excess, I was propelled to the kitchen with the promise of beautiful food. Gena shared a drop-dead gorgeous salad with mizuna and tempeh with a mustard-miso dressing. I had enough gusto to make the dressing and bake some tempeh. Less inclination to go to the store to buy cabbage, snow peas and cilantro. So, I tossed it with the arugula and some cherry tomatoes and cucumber.

It did not matter because the star of this salad was the dressing. Oh my gosh, it was so good. A hefty dose of miso, a strong background of mustard with a sweet sourness from Meyer lemons and maple syrup, this dressing had a lot of bold flavours that became downright addictive. The tempeh was very basic and could be used for most meal salads since it was not strongly flavoured.

By the time I finally got around to acquiring some cabbage, I think I hate half the cabbage with this dressing alone. I just kept returning for more delicious salad.

Here’s to beautiful salad! 🙂

Have you tried Gena’s recipes? What are your favourites?

This is my submission to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays and to this month’s No Croutons Required for little bites.

Tempeh and Arugula Salad with a Mustard Miso Dressing
Adapted from Choosing Raw, at Food52

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
2 tbsp water
1 tsp grated or minced ginger root
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
8 oz tempeh, sliced into thin strips (about 1/4 inch or a little less)

2 tbsp mellow white miso
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp oil of choice
1/4 cup lemon juice (I used Meyer lemons)
1 small clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 tsp maple syrup, or to taste (if you use regular lemons, you will likely need more sweetener)

4 cups baby arugula, or your choice of green
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, cubed

1. Begin by making your tempeh: mix together the vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, water, ginger, and sesame oil in a oven-safe casserole dish. Place tempeh inside and allow to marinate for 2-3 hours (or over the course of a day, refrigerated).

2. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375F. Spread your tempeh in a single layer and bake them for 25 minutes, flipping once half-way through. Set aside to cool.

3. Meanwhile, prepare your dressing: mix together the miso, mustard, lemon, oil, garlic, and maple syrup in a small cup. Season to taste.

4. To prepare your salad, Mix together the arugula, tomatoes and cucumber. Top with the baked tempeh and drizzle with the dressing.

Serves 2.