‘Kismet’ Wedge Salad

In Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes, from which this recipe is adapted, Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson write that this salad is “the star of the show” at their Kismet Rotisserie restaurants in L.A. The first time we made it, we immediately understood why: It’s simple — a wedge salad with radishes, scallions and a poppy-seed dressing — but fabulous. Way better than you’d figure based on those components. That's because that poppy-seed dressing, which gets an umami boost from white miso, is amazing.

The recipe makes a lot of dressing — about enough for 10 servings or more. The leftover dressing can be kept in the fridge for several days, but as the book notes, it tastes best on day one. Want to make half a recipe? We find that using an immersion blender works well for that. The reason we didn’t simply cut the recipe in half is that doing so may not work so well in a regular blender (depending on your blender).

Meanwhile, the recipe asks you to open a can of chickpeas in order to use the aquafaba (the liquid they’re in). Here are some ideas for using the actual chickpeas:

• Make half a recipe of Amazing Cheater Hummus

• Make Yogurt Soup with Orzo and Chickpeas

• Use them in Crimean Beef Stew (you’ll need one more can), in place of the dried chickpeas

• Make Ottolenghi’s Chickpeas and Swiss Chard with Yogurt

• Drain them, toss them in a little olive oil and roast them till they’re crispy on the edges, and toss them on top of the salad

Serves 4, with lots of extra dressing.

Ingredients

1/4 cup / 60 grams white miso

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/3 cup / 80 ml distilled white vinegar

Grated zest of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1/3 cup / 80 ml aquafaba from 1 can of chickpeas

1 cup / 240 ml neutral oil, such as canola or sunflower

1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds

1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into 4 wedges

6 to 8 radishes, any variety thinly sliced on a mandoline

2 scallions, thinly sliced into rounds

A big handful of parsley leaves

Instructions

1. Make the miso-poppy dressing: In a blender, combine the miso, honey, mustard, onion powder, salt, vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and aquafaba. Blend on medium-high speed for 10 seconds and, while the blender is still running, stream in the oil pouring slowly to emulsify.

2. Once the oil is completely incorporated, add the poppy seeds and blend for just a second or two to distribute, then turn off the blender immediately. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

3. Assemble the salad: Place the wedges of iceberg on a platter (or plate individually). Spoon a generous amount of the dressing over the wedges. Scatter the radishes, scallions, and parsley over the top.

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