Carrot Ginger Showstopper a.k.a. Grain Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing (and a Fried Egg)

I can't talk long! (This is how most phone conversations start these days.) But I did want to tell you about this meal we've been eating a lot of lately. I also want to say thank you for all of your thoughtful (and often encouraging) comments on the past couple of posts. Ready for it? Thank you!

I was introduced to this salad dressing a long time ago via a coworker. She’d brought it into work and was dipping carrot sticks into it. I loved it immediately—it was bright with ginger and rice vinegar and yet umami-ish and satisfying. I asked about the recipe and was told it came from Goop. I’m loath to share that information because as much as I love Gwyneth’s hair, seemingly very genuine/unforced smile, and makeup-free-looking makeup and sometimes find myself staring at photos of her, wondering about how her specific brand of perfection, I’m usually not a fan of her detox-heavy, $$$, and trendsetting approach to food. On that note: I'd originally made this dressing just as it appeared on her site, but one day I was out of miso and decided to sub in a combination of shoyu and sour cream. Yes, I added something from the much-maligned (at least in the diet world) major-food-group category known as dairy! But it was perfect and it’s definitely how I make it now.

Point being, this is one of those healthy (at least to me) vegetarian meals that the whole family likes and that comes together fairly quickly. Also, go ahead and make a lot of this dressing as it keeps well in the fridge and you'll probably want to eat it for a couple of meals anyway.

Lastly: if you want to see a video of Teddy and me making this meal, go here!

Grain Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing (and a Fried Egg) inspired by this recipe by Goop
serves 4

for dressing:
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons shoyu or soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seed oil
1/4 cup grapeseed oil, plus more for frying the eggs
¼ cup sour cream

for salad:
8 oz. mesclun salad greens
1 hothouse cucumber or 2-3 Persian cucumbers, sliced into thin half-moons
1 avocado, diced

don't forget:
2 cups brown rice (uncooked)
4 eggs

Rinse the rice, and then cook it—either according to the package instructions or preferably, in your trusty rice cooker.

While the rice cooks, make the dressing by pulsing the carrot, shallot and ginger in a food processor until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides, add the shoyu, vinegar, sesame oil, and sour cream, and whiz together. While the processor is going, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil.

Divide the lettuce, cucumber, and avocado into four wide bowls. In each bowl, add a cup of the cooked rice right next to the salad.

Fry your eggs in a bit of the grapeseed oil until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. (I like to cover the pan with a lid to help the whites set.)

Add an egg to the top of the rice. Drizzle over a few heaping spoonfuls of the dressing onto the greens. Eat.