What's For Dinner: Peanut Soba Noodle Salad

As the days get hotter and the summer season quickly approaches, it becomes time to stop cooking things in the oven and instead embrace cold and refreshing meals. Emily at Daily Garnish recently posted a recipe for a sesame soba noodle salad, and I used that as inspiration for my own cold noodle salad dish. To make this an even heartier entree, I'd suggest topping it with dry-fried or baked tofu - yum!

Peanut Soba Noodle Salad (printer-friendly version)
makes 8-10 servings

For the noodle salad:
1 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups shelled edamame
1 cup loosely-packed cilantro leaves, minced
1 package soba noodles

sesame seeds

For the dressing:
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
2 teaspoons organic orange blossom honey
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop all of the vegetables and place into a large bowl.
2. Cook the noodles per the manufacturer's instructions. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Add the noodles to the bowl with the vegetables. Stir to combine.
3. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour the dressing over the noodle salad and toss the ingredients to combine.
5. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with sesame seeds before serving.

(adapted from this Daily Garnish recipe)