By Judy Antell
Pasta is often a default main course for vegetarians, but when my kids were little, I was always searching for ways to get more vegetables into their diet. It is a still loved staple in our diet. When I made it the other night, one of my daughters, who is in law school, actually cheered.
This dish is loaded with protein from the peanut butter, tofu and edamame. And the vegetable to pasta ratio is about one to one, so it is more than just a pasta dish.
This highly adaptable sauce is a good way to use of pantry items and vegetables. You can make the sauce ahead of time, but take out of the fridge before you want to add to the noodles. You might need to add a tablespoon or two of water; the sauce tends to thicken if it has been in the refrigerator.
Don’t make the noodles too far in advance because they could stick together. You can add a little bit of sesame oil or peanut oil to the noodles to prevent sticking if you have to make the noodles in advance.
This noodle dish will also travel well. Once we are back to picnics in the park, this is a great dish to add to your repertoire.
For The Sauce:
- 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoons rice vinegar.
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce or Tamari
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar – or a little honey or agave
- juice of half a lime
- 4-6 drops Sriracha sauce – or any hot sauce
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
- 1 cup snow peas, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
- 1/2 pound firm tofu, pressed under a weight or book, then cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup chopped salted roasted peanuts
- 1-2 chopped scallions, greens and white part
- 12 ounces soba noodles, cooked, and cooled.
Instructions:
- To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a blender and puree.
- In a large bowl, add half the sauce, then all the noodles and stir to coat. Add the rest of the veggies and tofu and the rest of the sauce. Top with peanuts and scallions.
- Chill for about half an hour before eating.
Allergies, Food Preferences, Out of Stock Ingredients:
For the Peanut Butter— you can sub in tahini, sesame butter, almond butter for some or all of the peanut butter
For the Rice Vinegar— Don’t have any? Use cider vinegar, a bit of rice wine, white vinegar. Just don’t use balsamic.
Fresh Ginger— Don’t have any? Use some powdered, or leave it out – I always did when the kids were little.
No Lime?— Use lemon or more vinegar. Just don’t use sweetened lime juice.
Soba Noodles— if you don’t like buckwheat, or are out, use any spaghetti: whole wheat, regular spaghetti, udon noodles – whatever you have.
Vegetables— if you don’t have or don’t like these vegetables, try shredded carrot, cabbage, thinly sliced red pepper, even no vegetables.
