Cooking with Dr. Mom: Soba noodles with eggplant and mango

Another delicious-sounding recipe from my awesome mom.

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Yotam Ottolenghi wrote the wonderful vegetarian cookbook "Plenty".  The recipes are inspired by his time spent living in both Europe and the Middle East. He credits this recipe to his mother. He describes it as her "ultimate cook-to-impress fare" and a favorite among the readers of his Guardian recipe column.  I followed his recipe except that I broiled the eggplant instead of deep frying it as he suggests and I added mushrooms.

The recipe is best if it is made a few hours before eating to allow time for the flavors to meld. It would be a good choice for a pot luck party.

If this is to be a main course, simply add cubed fried/grilled tofu to the salad.

Soba Noodles with eggplant and mango

Dressing:

1/2 cup rice vinegar

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1/2 tsp sirachi hot sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

grated zest and juice of one lime

1 Italian eggplant or 3-4 Asian eggplants, cut into 2cm cubes and tossed with vegetable oil

8 oz soba noodles

1 large ripe mango, cut into 1cm cubes

1 1/2 cups Thai basil leaves, julienned

2 cups cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 sweet (vidalia) onion, very thinly sliced

1 pkg sliced mushrooms (8 oz)

roasted sesame seeds for garnish

In a small pot, heat the rice vinegar, sugar and salt over moderate heat to dissolve  the sugar in the vinegar. Remove from heat and add the rest of the dressing ingredients to the pot.  Allow to cool before tossing on the salad.

Lay the eggplant in a single layer on a foil covered cookie sheet and broil about 3 inches from the element.  Turn to cook the other side once browned and sizzling.  The eggplant should be soft, cooked through, with darkened crispy skin.

 

Fry onions in 1 tsp oil until cooked.  Cool. 

Cook the soba noodles in lots of boiling lightly salted water until cooked al dente - about 6-8 minutes.  Drain well and rinse under cold running water.  Shake the water off and allow to drip dry or lay on a clean dish towel to thoroughly dry before tossing with dressing and salad ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, toss the dressing, mango, mushrooms, eggplant, cooked cold soba noodles, half the basil and half the cilantro and the onion.  Allow to sit for 1-2 hours.  When ready to serve, add the other half of the basil and cilantro to the salad and toss well.

Serves 6.

Guest recipe: Vietnamese-inspired lentil salad

Here's another delicious-sounding recipe from my wonderful mother!

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Yesterday was cold and had us craving roasted veggies.  Today was hot, sunny and had us craving salad.  It is Victoria Day today and so all grocery stores are closed.  Time to invent from ingredients on hand.

 A lovely ripe mango was the starting point for creating this recipe.  For protein I chose the beluga lentils because I love the way these small black pearl-like lentils contrast with the bright orange mango.  Beluga lentils are a wonderful ingredient.  They are packed with protein and fibre, they do not require soaking before cooking, and they hold their shape and color  when cooked. The veggies were what I had in the fridge.  Any combination of crunchy veggies would work here - the goal is combining colors and flavors. The dressing is a variation of a vietnamese noodle salad dressing.

 

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups dry beluga lentils
3 cups water

1/2 sweet red pepper
1/2 English cucumber ( to provide approx 2 cups diced cucumber)
1 ripe mango
2 stalks celery
1 tomato
1 green onion, finely sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, (to provide approx 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro), or to taste

Dressing
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (approx juice of 1/2 large lime)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce (I prefer sodium reduced)
1 tsp sirachi sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Sesame seeds for garnish

Place lentils in a sieve and pick out any extra bits that aren't lentils (some brands are cleaner than others). Rinse thoroughly under cold water until water runs clear.  Place lentils in a pot with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt.   Bring lentils to a boil then cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir the lentils occasionally and add more liquid if the pot is getting dry.  Ideally there is very little water left in the pot when the lentils are finished cooking.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before adding to the salad.  If you are in a hurry, place the cooked lentils in a fine sieve and run cold water over them until lentils are cooled. Drain well before adding to salad ingredients.

Dice the mango and veggies so that all the ingredients are approximately the same size.  I prefer to dice to about 1-2 cm size so that each forkful of salad contains a variety of flavors.
Combine the cooked, cooled lentils with the mango veggie mix.

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a cup.  Taste for balance of sweet, salty and sour and add more sugar/soy sauce/lime juice as required to get the desired balance.

Toss the lentil salad with the finished dressing.  Sprinkle sesame seeds on top for decoration.

Enjoy :-)