sesame soba noodles

After a long, cold winter, Boston is finally experiencing a bit of a warm spell. So while I am certain it will be freezing again by the end of the week (I don't trust those weather people!) I am taking advantage of the restorative properties of the sunshine and making some cool, refreshing salads. While the farmers markets have yet to start up in New England - only a few more weeks!! - the grocery has perfectly respectable fresh veggies. They may not be local, but right now, I'm alright with that. This is a nice, and very versatile, noodle salad. You could really throw just about any vegetable in there, but this combination works really well! I ended up using normal, not baby, bok choy, as my store was out that day. Instead of using it raw, I blanched the bok choy, and it worked just fine.

Sesame Soba Noodles
Bon Appetit, June 2008

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper, divided
1/3 cup canola oil
8 ounces soba noodles
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
3 cups (loosely packed) mixed baby greens
2 heads of baby bok choy, cored, thinly sliced crosswise
1 English hothouse cucumber, sliced
3 green onions, cut into matchstick-size strips
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Salted roasted peanuts

Puree first 9 ingredients and 1 teaspoon red pepper in blender until smooth. With machine running, gradually add canola oil through opening in lid. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook soba noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well. Using kitchen shears, cut noodles crosswise in 2 to 3 places. Drizzle noodles in strainer with sesame oil and toss to coat.

Place greens, bok choy, cucumber, green onions, chopped cilantro, and mint in large bowl. Add 1 teaspoon red pepper, dressing, and noodles; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and peanuts and serve.

- e

hot and cold sesame noodles

here's a little snippet of a conversation i had with my mom as i walked home from work yesterday:
mom: so what are you guys making for dinner?
me: oh just those spicy sesame peanut noodles, i had to work a bit late and they're easy.
mom: oooo the ones kris made for me? those are yummy! you should yumcoast them so then i'll have the recipe.

this is a recipe that kris and i found years and years ago and it's still in our regular dinner rotation. yes, it's a rachael ray recipe, but it's so quick, easy and delicious and it doesn't require the purchase of a bunch of ingredients. it's also great leftover the next day. over the years we've taken some things out and added a little twist of our own. you can easily adjust the spice level to your taste or throw in other vegetables that you have hanging around. we used to make it with spagetti noodles but now prefer shapes (shells may be our favorite...they trap the sauce just right!). anyway, here ya go mom!

hot and cold sesame noodles
(adapted from rachael ray's recipe)
ingredients:
1/2 pound pasta of your choice
1/4 cup tamari dark soy
1/4 rounded cup all-natural unsalted smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons hot sauce (we like to play around with the hot sauce...try different kinds!)
2 cups thinly chopped cabbage (we usually do red but green works too)
3 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1-2 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

Cook pasta to al dente then cold shock it to stop the cooking process by running it under cold water in colander. Drain the pasta very well.
In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together soy, peanut butter, vinegar, sesame oil, chopped ginger and hot sauce. Add noodles, cabbage and scallions and toss to coat them evenly with sauce. Sprinkle sesame seeds throughout the salad and serve.
-d

grilled sesame bok choy & brussels sprouts

our dinner last night was inspired by a meal we had last saturday. after being on our list of places to try for probably about a year, we finally made it to eos wine bar and restaurant in cole valley. loved it! we sat in the wine salon (definitely their phrase, not mine), tried some wine flights and nibbled on a variety of small plates. two of those dishes being grilled bok choy with tofu and grape tomatoes and sesame roasted brussels sprouts. we combined the two into grilled sesame bok choy and brussels sprouts and served it over brown rice. i cooked the vegetables in our grill pan (which i love but don't use nearly as often as i should because i hate cleaning it) but if you don't have one i think it would work well in a normal old pan too.

grilled sesame bok choy & brussels sprouts with brown rice
ingredients:
1 cup short grain brown rice
bok choy (i had 3 smallish sized bunches) top leaves trimmed
brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, bottoms trimmed and cut in half
olive oil
sesame seeds
sesame oil
crushed red chili flakes
1/3 cup peanuts, toasted and chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black

get the rice going according to package instructions

in a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper and set aside. chop the cilantro but keep separate for now.

heat your grill pan. brush the bok choy with olive oil and cook on each side for a couple minutes until softened and grill lines appear. once they're cooked, transfer to a regular pan. drizzle with a little sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds and chili flakes to taste. toss for a minute or two.

toss your halved brussels sprouts with olive oil to coat. cook in the grill pan the same way you did the bok choy. once cooked, move to regular pan to toss with sesame oil, sesame seeds and chili flakes.

when the rice is done cooking pour the sauce over it and mix to combine. stir in the chopped cilantro.

serve the vegetables over rice and garnish with peanuts.

-d