I first had Japanese carrot-ginger salad dressing at a sushi place in New Haven maybe 20 years ago. This style of dressing has become a staple in our kitchen. It’s a versatile dressing, so if you’re not too much of a purist, any of these variations can be enacted depending on what’s in your pantry and still with positive results.

In its simplest form, kasha (a.k.a. buckwheat) is a tasty but mild, versatile cooked grain that’s also very high in protein. With the variations here (also fairly simple), you can also make kasha varnishkes, a pretty fancy and centerpiece-worthy dish.