Sesame for me

When I first saw this recipe on the Smitten Kitchen blog, I thought, mmmm, looks good, but it's probably too difficult. Then I read further and realized how easy and good it sounded.
It was easy and quick!!! And oh, so so good. Hubby and I both loved it and we barely like tofu. However, I must warn you, this is NOT a light recipe. It does have lots of nutrients, but this is definitely one of those recipes that fits in the "once in a long while" category of your moderate diet. ; )

On that note ... what is good about this recipe is the sesame! Both the sesame oil in the dressing and the toasted sesame seeds offer lots of unsaturated fats and are a very good source of copper. Sesame also contains fibrous groups called lingans that have been shown to lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure. Sesame seeds, although mostly known as being white, also come in yellow, red and black.

I also have to say that I loved how many vegetables were in this. And the soba noodles (buckwheat) cooked really quickly and were exceptionally tasty. I can't wait to make this again... in oh, 4 months. ; )

Peanut Sesame Noodles

(as seen in Smitten Kitchen blog [Adapted from Gourmet, June 2002])

Servings: Makes 6 side-dish or 4 vegetarian main-course servings.

For peanut dressing
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium to control the salt)
1/3 cup warm water
1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 medium garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons Asian toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes or a splash of the hot sauce or chili paste of your choice

For noodles
3/4 lb dried soba nooodles (dried linguine fini or spaghetti will work in a pinch)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
Half a seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup firm or extra-firm tofu, cubed
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Purée dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 2 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl.

Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain in a colander, then rinse well under cold water.

Add pasta, scallions, bell peppers, cucumber and tofu to dressing, tossing to combine. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
(for one main serving)
CALORIES 740
FAT 31g (Sat. 5.5g)
CHOLESTEROL 0mg
SODIUM 1,524 mg
POTASSIUM 965mg
CARBOHYDRATES 94g
FIBER 6.6g
PROTEIN 35g