Sunday, August 3, 2014

Soba noodles with Lime Cilantro Pesto

Resuscitating this blog after years..

Having moved next to an Asian food market, I'm discovering many interesting ingredients and experimenting a bit. I once ate cold Soba noodles with a dipping sauce (which was mostly soy sauce with garlic and scallions) at a Japanese restaurant and found it to be a delicious summer lunch. Since then, I have been trying to use Soba noodles more. Inspiration struck when I ate a Cilantro Pesto pasta salad at Sweet Tomatoes - I decided to combine Cilantro Pesto and the Soba noodles.

This is a delicious cold lunch and tastes even better the next day. It also requires very little prep work - the Pesto is easily prepared in the blender and a bunch of vegetables can be chopped while the noodles boil.

The washing of the soba noodles once cooked takes a few extra minutes ( they need to be rinsed several times in cold water to remove the starch ) but the results are worth the effort.



Cilantro Lime Pesto:

1 bunch of cilantro, leaves and stems, roughly chopped
2 big cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
1/3 C sunflower seeds, toasted
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
1-2 T oil (toasted sesame or canola)
2 limes, zested and juiced
salt to taste
Add some pasta water to loosen up the paste

1 package of soba noodles, cooked and rinsed at least 2 times in cold water

2 cups of carrots (thinly sliced) and broccoli (steamed in the microwave)

Grilled Tofu for some Protein

1 bunch scallions: thinly sliced

Toss all together. Yum!!