I don’t know about you but sometimes, the more I cook, the more everything ends up tasting the same. These days my salads somehow all end up with some form of quinoa, avocado, tomato and feta. So today I decided to live with intent 🙂 and changed up the flavor palette completely. This Asian-influenced cold noodle salad takes a little bit of organisation but it looks beautiful and tastes heavenly. You’ll notice that I use two dressings: one that I mix in right away to infuse it with flavors, and the other that I add at the last minute to give it extra yumminess. You really need both.
It is perfect as a vegetarian main, but you could also serve it with fresh grilled fish, prawns or chicken.
Serves 4 main courses, 6 as a side dish
Ingredients
The salad
- 1 package brown rice vermicelli (Soba could also work nicely here)
- 2 tbsp of rapeseed oil + 1 tbsp sesame seed oil
- 1 bunch of chopped cilantro
- 1/2 bunch of chopped fresh mint (chop mint by hand, it will get black if chopped in a machine)
- 2 cups of cubed butternut squash
- 2-3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp powdered ginger
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 cup tender stem broccoli, lightly steamed
- 1/3 cup of toasted cashew nuts, slightly crushed
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
- 2 limes, cut into quarters
Dressing phase 1: Goop-style carrot ginger dressing
(Heavily inspired by Goop.com’s recipe)
- 2 medium carrots
- 1/4 cup of peeled and cubed fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup of rice vinegar
- 2-3 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp white miso paste or tamari/soy sauce *
- 1/3 cup rapeseed oil
- 1/4 cup of water
- 1 tbsp raw honey
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- Zest of 1 organic lime
Mix all the ingredients until the form a really creamy consistency.
*While white miso adds a distinctive taste, if you’re like me, you might not have it in your cupboard at all times. If that’s the case, then tamari/soy sauce can also work.
Dressing phase 2: Sesame-lime dressing
- 1/3 cup of rapeseed oil
- 2-3 tbsp sesame seed oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
Mix all ingredients and set aside.
Instructions
- Heat oven to 300 F
- Toss the butternut squash with coconut oil, powdered ginger and tamari or soy sauce
- Place the squash on a cookie sheet and put in the preheated oven until cooked through and golden, between 20 and 30 minutes
- Once cooked, remove squash from oven and let cool
- While the squash is cooking, cook the noodles as per package directions (do not overcook!). When done, throw them in cold water for a few minutes and strain. Place in a separate bowl
- Toss the noodles in the rapeseed and sesame seed oils. This will give them a nice taste and will keep them from getting sticky
- Once the noodles are cooled, toss in 2/3 of the Goop-style carrot ginger dressing
- Add cilantro, mint, cooled butternut squash and broccoli. Give it another toss and then chill for an hour or two
- Right before serving, mix in the sesame-lime dressing
- Top the salad with the remaining Goop-style dressing, sesame seeds and cashews. Serve quartered limes on the side
