Cold Noodles with a Peanut Sauce - Cookbook Challenge 3

For me, browsing though a cookbook is sometimes more than an exercise in finding a recipe, it often evokes fond memories of people, time and place.

And so it is with the cookbook I used for this fortnight's challenge, World of the East Vegetarian Cooking (1981). I bought this book second-hand at a sidewalk stall late one autumn afternoon when I lived in Brooklyn, along with a Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway album. Every time I look at this book it takes me back to my mid-20s, when life was a little bit more carefree and I was living a strange adventure in New York City.


It really is a lovely cookbook, published before the advent of food-porn and hand-illustrated. Each time I look at it I realise I simply don't use it enough. It features an extensive collection of Asian recipes that are very easy to make and particularly good for busy people. So I was glad of the opportunity to use it for this fortnight's cookbook challenge - rice/noodles.

These noodles are a great summer dish, which you can prepare ahead and eat sometime later when it is just too hot to be in the kitchen, and the peanut sauce is delicious. I really recommend that you give this recipe a try.

Recipe: Cold noodles with a peanut sauce
Cookbook: World of the East Vegetarian Cooking (1981)
Author: Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients:
500g thin Chinese egg noodles (I actually used soba)
2 tbls sesame oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tbls shelled, salted roasted peanuts (I used unsalted roasted peanuts - it tasted fine)
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 tbls peanut oil
1 tbls thin soy sauce
2 tsp Chinese black vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Pinch of cayenne pepper
A couple of thinly sliced spring onions

Method:
Prepare noodles according to the packet directions. Drain and run cold water over them to rinse and cool, them let them drain for about 5 minutes.

Put the noodles in a serving bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and toss. You can cover and refrigerate the noodles at this stage for a couple of hours.

Combine the 1/4 cup of peanuts, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, garlic, peanut oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and 1/4 cup of water in a food processor or blender. Blend until you have a smooth sauce.

Crush the remaining 1 tablespoon of peanuts to a coarse crumb texture in a spice grinder, mortar, or food processor.

When you are ready to eat, pour the sauce over the noodles and toss. Garnish by putting the spring onion over the noodles and top with the crushed peanuts.

Serves 4.


You can find out what everyone is up to this fortnight here

A Delicious Summer Tabbouleh

The deliciousness of the cypriot grain salad at Hellenic Republic inspired many to try and replicate in their home. Our friends came up with this version and brought it along to a BBQ we hosted at the beginning of December. It was a big hit. I requested the recipe and have been making almost weekly, it's so delicious, too delicious to keep to myself so I am sharing the recipe with you.


Due to my fructan intolerance I have been substituting the same amount of pearl barley for the burghol and omitting the onion. The pearl barley makes for a very wholesome and tasty tabbouleh that has a great chew to it, it's quite a substantial and filling salad. It is fantastic served with some grilled chops for a quick dinner. I've been making a batch of it on the weekends and taking to work for lunch.

I remember eating my first tabbouleh salad as a teenager in the 80s. It was quite a new salad and unusual to Australian palates then, quite exotic! Tabbouleh recipes are now ubiquitous but this is a fantastic recipe and I do encourage you to try it, using either the burghol or the pearl barley.

Ingredients:
2 bunches of parsley
2 large handfuls of mint leaves
100g fine burghol
450g ripe tomatoes finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of cinnamon
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Gather the springs of parsley into small bundles so that the leaves are packed together at the same level. Place each bundle on your chopping surface, grip the upper part of the parsley firmly with one hand and use the other to cut off the stalks with a sharp knife. Chop the rest of the parsley and place in a mixing bowl. Chop the mint and add to the parlsey.

Rinse the burghol, leave for a few minutes in the sieve then add to the parsley and mint. Add the tomatoes. Sprinkle the onion with the salt, black pepper and cinnamon and rub with your fingers (the salt and pepper reduce the sharpness of the onion). Add this with the lemon juice an oil to the other ingredients. Toss, taste and adjust the seasonings. If the tabbouleh is not moist enough, mix in about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cold water.


*Variation
Roasted pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) sunflower seeds and sesame seeds can also be added to the salad. Use about 3 tablespoons of papitas, and 2 tablespoons each of the sunflower and sesame seeds and add them to a dry frying pan. Roast seeds over a medium heat stirring continually until seeds brown and start to pop. You will need to keep a close eye on them to ensure they don't burn! Add seeds when ready to serve to prevent them going soggy.

Enjoy!