These Sesame, Ginger & Lime Noodles hit the spot for a quick & easy lunch or dinner. If you make for dinner, the leftovers are wonderful for tomorrow’s lunch too! I made it with what I had at home this time; asparagus, frozen peas, limp cavolo nero & celery but it’s lovely with all veg, so use what you’ve got. Sometimes I keep the greens raw when they’re super fresh & when the sun’s out.

I use soba noodles but you can use whatever you like best. Also if you haven’t got any citrus, swap for apple cider vinegar instead. And I like mine really gingery so I use a lot but you can use less or more if you’re wild like me.

Method

1. Finely grate or chop the ginger and garlic and whisk all the other dressing ingredients together or if you like, blitz them all together and season to taste.
2. Finely shred the greens and chop the broccoli, make sure you finely slice the stalk too.
3. Toast the nuts or seeds and sesame seeds in a dry frying pan for a few mins until golden & set aside.
4. In a medium saucepan, cook the noodles in plenty of boiling water (check label). Buckwheat noodles can sometimes get a bit stuck so use 2 forks at the beginning and a good sized pan with plenty of water to stop them getting clumpy.  As soon as they are cooked, rinse well with cold water, drain and toss with a little oil.
5. Meanwhile back to the first pan, steam or stir fry the broccoli/greens for 3 mins then add the frozen peas/edamame/broad beans for a final few minutes so that the greens are just tender & keep their bright green colour.
6. Then on a big serving platter/bowl, mix the noodles and veg together with most of the dressing, toss the herbs through, scatter over the nuts or seeds & serve the rest of the dressing on the side. Enjoy now as a warm salad or chill for later.

Ingredients

4 bundles soba noodles
1/2 head cabbage/pak choy/kale, sliced
1 head broccoli/asparagus/green beans
4 handfuls frozen peas, broad beans or edamame or a mix
2 handfuls fresh herbs like coriander/mint/basil
4 spring onions/chopped chives
Handful sesame seeds
2 handfuls pumpkin seeds or toasted cashews or any nuts/seeds you like
½ large cucumber or fennel or celery, something crunchy) sliced
Ginger lime dressing:
1-2 inches ginger
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 2 limes or 1 big lemon or 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 fat clove garlic, finely chopped
Pinch chilli flakes / fresh chilli
2 – 3 tbsp tamari
2 tsp raw honey or maple syrup
2 tsp toasted sesame oil or 2 tsp miso if you have that
Sea salt & pepper

My Cookbook