Chilled Miso Spinach

Makes 4 servings

• 1 pound spinach, washed well and stemmed

For the Miso Vinaigrette

• 2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs light miso paste
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 Tbs sesame seeds, toasted
• 2 Tbs black sesame seeds (these look delicious, but I left them out. Let me know if you used them and what you thought)

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until it is wilted, about 1 minute. Drain the spinach and immediately plunge it into a container of ice water. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and chop it finely. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, miso and soy sauce. Whisk in the oils. Toss half of the vinaigrette on the spinach and let sit for half an hour to marinate.

2. Squeeze the vinaigrette from the spinach. Put a piece of plastic wrap on a work surface and spread with sesame seeds. Form a log of spinach and place it in the center of the bed of seeds. Roll up the spinach in the wrap, twisting the ends and tying them in knots. You should have a log about 1 inch in diameter. Chill the log in the freezer for half an hour.

ON THE PLATE
Unwrap the log and slice it into eight 1 inch thick slices. Drizzle each slice with some of the remaining vinaigrette and serve. Another, simpler way to serve this dish is to dress the cooked and chopped spinach with as much vinaigrette as desired and serve it in small mounds, sprinkled with the sesame seeds, either warm or chilled.