Sesame Noodles for dinner

The weather has been hot, and will get hotter. I want to eat but nothing heavy, or really spicy like I did last night. I made an Indian Chicken recipe that Griffin loves, and it’s wonderful and was great last night, but it was too spicy and a bit too overloaded for the heat of July. Tonight, knowing that the G-man was going to be out for the evening with Grandma, I had an opportunity to make a meal that just Mike and I would enjoy, so I settled on Sesame Noodles.

I love noodle dishes, simple easy and definitely nutritious. I have perfected Lo Mein from my kitchen that is delicious, and on good days I can get my 12 year old to eat it without too much wailing and gnashing of teeth. The Sesame Noodles are a bit different. The original recipe came from Eating Well magazine, one of those food mags that makes me drool when I read it. I swapped the red pepper and pea pods (ridiculously expensive right now) for some toothsome spinach and matchstick carrots. (these are handy when pre-cut already in a bag!) The recipe calls for either rice vinegar or lime juice and I use the latter since I love it’s tart bite and taste of summer. For an extra twist I decided to try some lime zest in the dish, and used both black and white sesame seeds for an interesting contrast. The good thing about noodle dishes is that you can be sitting down to eat in about 15 minutes, with chopping and all, so it was doubly great to be done quick as Mike was heading out to meet some friends. A sauce comprised of soy sauce, sesame and canola oil, some wasabi paste for heat, the lime juice and chopped scallions pulled it all together with the quick saute of carrot, garlic and spinach. A garnish of cilantro, a pair of chopsticks and we were in business.

The flavor was outstanding. Hints of the lime zest and the slow heat of the wasabi kept my mouth lively with the deep amber of the sesame oil peeking through. With the spinach and carrot adding some contrasting textures, intermingled with the tiny, almost imperceptible crunch of the sesame seeds, each bite in my mouth seemed like it was alive, toying with the whole grain goodness of the slippery wheat pasta. Thankfully the use of chopsticks makes me eat slower so I could savor this delightful dish in front of me. I love it when I can take a recipe and make up some variation on it’s theme that simply blows my mind. Man, do I love it!!

If you want to try it, here it is.

Sesame Noodles*

1 # whole grain spaghetti

½ c. reduced sodium soy sauce

2 T. sesame oil

1 T. canola oil

2 T. lime juice

Zest of half a lime^

1 ½ t. crushed red pepper

4 scallions, finely sliced

8 oz. fresh spinach^

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped^

4 oz. matchstick carrots^

½ c. toasted sesame seeds

¼ c. chopped cilantro

Mix together soy sauce, oils, lime juice, red pepper and ¼ c. scallions. Set aside

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.

Meanwhile, roughly chop spinach. Heat a sauté pan with a small amount of oil and add garlic when hot. Sauté for 20-30 seconds, then add carrots. Cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Add spinach and cook until wilted but still firm. When pasta is done, add back to cooking pot and toss in vegetables and sauce mix. Stir to combine. Add zest and half the sesame seeds and mix. Serve with cilantro and remaining sesame seeds as garnish.

*Original recipe from the Summer 2004 issue of Eating Well; changes are noted with ^