warm soba noodle salad

I make this salad all the time because it rocks. The inspiration for this salad came from a Karen Martini recipe from The Sunday Age Life supplement. Martini's recipe was called Soba Noodle Salad with Broccoli, Chicken and Toasted Nori. I'm not a fan of chicken, so I used tofu instead. Either smoked or plain tofu works well in this recipe; use whatever is your favourite. I also added a bunch of asparagus to the original recipe because I love my vegies. I like this salad warm but having it cold in Summer would be perfect on a hot day. There is plenty salad to feed two people and bonus! there is left over for one lucky person for the next day. Heck, you may need to arm wrestle or offer to wash the dishes to be the fortunate person :)



1 packet soba noodles
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
1 bunch asparagus, sliced into 1cm pieces
2 tbsp sesame seed
2 tsp sesame oil
100ml ponzu sauce
80ml extra virgin olive oil
15cm piece ginger, peeled and diced
1 packet tofu (smoked or plain), cut into 2cm batons
5 spring onions, finely sliced
1 sheet toasted nori, shredded

In a large bowl, mix together the sesame seeds, sesame oil, olive oil and ginger and ponzu. Set aside.
Cook noodles in a small saucepan of boiling water for about 3 minutes (or follow packet instructions). Drain and set aside. In a frying pan, add a splash of olive oil and cook tofu pieces over a medium heat until slightly browned. Season the tofu with cracked pepper while its cooking. Turn of heat and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, cook broccoli in salted water for 2 minutes. Add the asparagus to the saucepan 1 minute into the cooking time. Drain vegetables. Add noodles, spring onions, vegetables, and tofu to the bowl with dressing. Mix together until all ingredients coated with dressing. Serve sprinkled with shredded Nori.

The trick to having this salad warm, is to not refresh the noodles and vegetables in cold water. Be careful not to overcook the noodles and vegetables. Of course, if you would like a cold version of this salad, refresh noodles and vegetables in cold water and drain. If asparagus is not in season, use extra broccoli or add broccolini. To toast the nori, I put a sheet in a hot oven for a minute or two. Seems to work a treat.

Our tummies love this salad. I hope your tummy agrees.

yumtown salad

No photo of yumtown salad but trust me, its good.
I tweaked a recipe I found for Salade Nicoise to use up bits and pieces laying around the kitchen.
I especially wanted to use up the cos and dill I had in the fridge. Both ingredients are currently
rocking my world. I also used leftover chives and basil from the night before but parsley and coriander would also work really well. The green beans at the local fruit and veg shop looked terribly sad so I went with the lush looking sugar snap peas.

Dressing:

Finely chopped chives, dill and basil
1 green chilli halved, seeded and finely sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
sea salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves crushed

Mix all ingredients together. Taste and tweak if needed.

Salad Ingredients:

1 baby cos lettuce
large handful cherry tomatoes
4 kipler potatoes
1 cup of sugar snap peas
Bunch of asparagus
2 boiled eggs, peeled and halved
185g tin chilli tuna
small handful kalamata olives (I used Willunga olives)

Cut the kipler potatoes into bite size pieces and boil in salted water until tender.
I chucked the aparagus and snap peas in with the potatoes for the last minute of cooking.
Heck, it saves a pot and water. Drain and set aside.
Separate enough cos lettuce leaves to place on the base of a large platter.
Chop up the remainder cos lettuce. If the cherry tomatoes are large, cut in half otherwise leave whole.
Mix cooked vegetables, cos lettuce, tomatoes in a bowl with the dressing.
Place salad on top of cos leaves in platter.
Drain tin of tuna and place chunks over salad with halved peeled eggs.
Sprinkle the olives on the salad and eat up.

And thus, with full bellies and no left overs YUMTOWN!