One great way to foist something new on your kid is to make part of it not new. My son Harry, for instance, loves onions. Neither his father nor I are crazy about them. Maybe he’s channeling Aristotle Onassis, who was known to wolf down plates of raw onions. (No wonder Jackie supposedly had a contract requiring her to kiss him no more than once a month.)
Because of his love affair with onions – Harry’s, not Onassis’ – I often substitute onions for the vegetable element in recipes I try. That way, when he looks askance at his dinner plate, and asks, “What’s this?” I can truthfully respond,
“It’s mostly onions. You love onions.”
Not surprisingly, the first recipe I’m giving you here contains a fair share of onions. Not to worry if your kid doesn’t share Harry’s onion obsession; because they’re sautéed, they aren’t spicy, and they match well with the other main component in this dish – tuna.
“Tuna!” I hear you shrieking. “What are you trying to do? Turn my kid into a mercury-addled zombie?”
No, of course not. My understanding of the tuna situation is that if you have it no more than once a month or so, that’s fine. And if you’re really paranoid about it, you can always substitute canned salmon for the canned tuna.
Or you can just skip that recipe – delicious as it is – and move right onto recipe #2, which features an ingredient every kid loves: bacon. Whenever I make a recipe with bacon, I always make an extra half pound, knowing that my husband and son will hoover up every bit of bacon they can get their grubby mitts on. I make all the bacon, hide what I need, and wait patiently for the hoof beats from the family room followed by the inevitable question: “Do I smell bacon?”
The recipe is for something really nobody should eat very often: Bacon Fried Rice, which is every bit as delicious as it sounds. I’ve made it somewhat more saintly by replacing the eggs in the original recipe with tofu, but really, any dish replete with bacon – and with bacon grease as the sauté medium – can only be considered so healthy. I guarantee, however, that your child will not go to bed hungry on the nights you serve Bacon Fried Rice. And isn’t that most of the point?
Skillet Tuna Casserole (dairy-free)
1 T. vegan margarine (or unsalted butter, if you don’t mind dairy)
2 6-oz. cans tuna in oil (Genova makes the best; it comes in green cans and goes by the Italian name “Tonno”)
1 large-ish onion, diced
3 T. flour
2 c. plain unsweetened Silk soy milk (or regular milk, if you don’t mind dairy)
2 tsp. garlic salt (plus more, to taste)
1 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
8 oz. noodles (farfalle, orechiette, shells, or any other shape you prefer. My son Harry likes the tennis racquets), prepared according to package directions
Melt the margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil from the cans of tuna. Saute the onion in the margarine/tuna oil for five minutes or so, until the onion is translucent but not browned.
Add the flour and stir until the flour turns golden brown, a minute or two.
Pour in the soy milk, and cook and stir until the sauce thickens. Add the garlic salt and pepper and check for additional seasoning. (Seasoned salt makes a nice addition.) Add the noodles and stir to coat. Serves 4.
Bacon Fried Rice
1 pound of bacon (you only need six slices of bacon for the recipe, but you know your family will snarf up the rest)
½ package firm or extra firm tofu, drained well
1 cup rice, prepared according to package directions (or 2 cups cooked, leftover rice)
6 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thin
Soy sauce to taste
Saute the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. When browned and crispy, remove, drain, and crumble six of the slices. Pour off all but about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat, or as much as you think your arteries can stand. Truth be told, the more bacon fat you leave in the pan, the better the fried rice tastes; fat, after all, is what makes Southern food so good.
So when you’ve wrestled with your conscience over the bacon fat issue, make yourself feel virtuous and crumble the tofu into the pan, leaving it in fairly good-sized chunks. Saute until the tofu is lightly colored. Add the rice and scallions, and cook and stir to heat through. Add the crumbled bacon and soy sauce to taste. Serves 4.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Take A Tip From Cross-Examiners...
Use A Cross-Examiner’s Secrets To Get Your Kids To Try New Dishes…
As any afficionado of courtroom dramas knows, cross-examining attorneys get the answers they want from witnesses by asking them “leading questions”; that is, questions that elicit a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response and lead to a desired conclusion. ‘Isn’t it true that…’ ‘Isn’t it true that…’ ‘Isn’t it true that…’ and finally, ‘Then you must agree that…’
The same technique works on a kid who’s unwilling to try a new dish like, say, this month’s flat-out fabulous Chicken Tortilla Soup. The first time I put a bowl of it in front of my son Harry, he pushed it away.
“I’m not eating it,” he declared.
“You’ll like it when you find out what‘s in it,” I reassured him. “You like chicken soup, right?” began the cross-examination.
“Yes, but this doesn’t look like –“
“Just answer the question! It also has salsa in it. You like that too, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And tortillas. You love those, right?”
“Well, that’s all it is, basically. So you’ll like it, right?”
“…I guess.”
He didn’t just like it. He loved it. Everybody does. It’s super fast –it’s done in less than half an hour – and it’s super easy, starting as so many of my recipes do with a rotisserie chicken. And by the way, you can make it vegan by subbing chicken flavored seitan and vegan “chicken” broth for the chicken and broth.
No matter how you make it, you’ll be making it over and over and over again. It’s that good.
Chicken tortilla soup…in thirty minutes
1 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, cut into eight pieces
2 tsp minced garlic (2 large cloves)
¾ of a 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 jalapeno chile, ribs and seeds removed if you prefer less heat
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo with 1-3 tsp of sauce, depending on how much spice you want
8 cups chicken broth (low sodium is best)
2 sprigs fresh oregano
A handful of fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1rotisserie chicken, or at least half of one if you can’t keep greedy fingers out. Shred the meat and discard (or gobble up) the skin
2 bags of Fresh Gourmet Tortilla Strips, lightly salted (in the produce section) or ½ of a 10-oz bag of tortilla chips, broken into large pieces (“Hey, kids! Come into the kitchen! There’s something I want you to break for me!”)
Garnishes:
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1 ripe avocado, cut into small cubes
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, regular or Vegan Gourmet (optional)
Sour cream, regular or vegan Tofutti brand
Put the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven and heat over medium heat until it shimmers.
Bung the onion, tomato, garlic, chipotle and sauce and jalapeno into a food processor and puree. Add to Dutch oven. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken broth, oregano and cilantro, and heat five minutes.
Add the shredded chicken and heat through.
Put a handful of broken tortilla chips in each soup bowl. Ladle soup over. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and other garnishes. Serves 6.
As any afficionado of courtroom dramas knows, cross-examining attorneys get the answers they want from witnesses by asking them “leading questions”; that is, questions that elicit a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response and lead to a desired conclusion. ‘Isn’t it true that…’ ‘Isn’t it true that…’ ‘Isn’t it true that…’ and finally, ‘Then you must agree that…’
The same technique works on a kid who’s unwilling to try a new dish like, say, this month’s flat-out fabulous Chicken Tortilla Soup. The first time I put a bowl of it in front of my son Harry, he pushed it away.
“I’m not eating it,” he declared.
“You’ll like it when you find out what‘s in it,” I reassured him. “You like chicken soup, right?” began the cross-examination.
“Yes, but this doesn’t look like –“
“Just answer the question! It also has salsa in it. You like that too, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And tortillas. You love those, right?”
“Well, that’s all it is, basically. So you’ll like it, right?”
“…I guess.”
He didn’t just like it. He loved it. Everybody does. It’s super fast –it’s done in less than half an hour – and it’s super easy, starting as so many of my recipes do with a rotisserie chicken. And by the way, you can make it vegan by subbing chicken flavored seitan and vegan “chicken” broth for the chicken and broth.
No matter how you make it, you’ll be making it over and over and over again. It’s that good.
Chicken tortilla soup…in thirty minutes
1 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, cut into eight pieces
2 tsp minced garlic (2 large cloves)
¾ of a 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 jalapeno chile, ribs and seeds removed if you prefer less heat
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo with 1-3 tsp of sauce, depending on how much spice you want
8 cups chicken broth (low sodium is best)
2 sprigs fresh oregano
A handful of fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1rotisserie chicken, or at least half of one if you can’t keep greedy fingers out. Shred the meat and discard (or gobble up) the skin
2 bags of Fresh Gourmet Tortilla Strips, lightly salted (in the produce section) or ½ of a 10-oz bag of tortilla chips, broken into large pieces (“Hey, kids! Come into the kitchen! There’s something I want you to break for me!”)
Garnishes:
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1 ripe avocado, cut into small cubes
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, regular or Vegan Gourmet (optional)
Sour cream, regular or vegan Tofutti brand
Put the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven and heat over medium heat until it shimmers.
Bung the onion, tomato, garlic, chipotle and sauce and jalapeno into a food processor and puree. Add to Dutch oven. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken broth, oregano and cilantro, and heat five minutes.
Add the shredded chicken and heat through.
Put a handful of broken tortilla chips in each soup bowl. Ladle soup over. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and other garnishes. Serves 6.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Just try it...
Years of cafeteria eating teaches one to look askance at any savory dish served with an ice cream scoop. Gelatinous spaghetti. Prune whip. Chef’s Surprise.
Chef’s Surprise! How did they ever get us to fall for that? As a grown up no one could persuade you to eat “Chef’s Surprise”…unless, of course, they charged you a hundred bucks for it and called it a “tastings menu.”
Chicken a la King, a prime example of ice cream scoop cafeteria fare, is worth a second look. If prepared well, it’s got a chicken-y flavor kids (and grown ups) love. It’s quick and easy to prepare with the boon of rapid cuisine, a rotisserie chicken. It packs in a fair amount of vegetables. It has a delicious, creamy sauce without a speck of cream (and no condensed soups). And you can make it vegan by replacing the chicken with tofu and the chicken broth with vegan “chick’n” bouillon (at veganessentials.com).
OK, there’s that stick of butter or margarine which stops it from being completely virtuous, so on nights when you serve it, it’s best to skip the Bloomin’ Onion appetizer.
When it comes to kid appeal, I must confess that this wonderful dish was not an immediate hit with my six-year-old son Harry. He took one look at it and pronounced, “It looks like throw up.”
“How ironic you say that, Sugar Lump,” I responded dryly. “It is throw up.”
Of course I didn’t say that. Because you can’t use the word ‘ironic’ on a six year old; they don’t get it.
He was right about the throw up resemblance, however. His skepticism was heightened by the presence of mushrooms, which he hates. It doesn’t help that the first time we tried to feed him mushrooms, my husband Henry described them as a fungus, ”fungus” being a word Harry had only previously heard in TV ads for toenail fungus treatments (on those rare occasions when we allow him to watch anything other than PBS, of course. In French.)
So how did I get the Chicken a la King into Harry’s reluctant mushhog? By using a line that almost always works:
“You don’t have to eat it. You only have to try it.”
As they say, the first bite is the hardest. For some reason the lack of a practical difference between “eating” and “trying” hasn’t occurred to Harry. In the meantime, I’ll bet I could get him to eat worms using this line (not that I plan to, mind you).
Chicken a la King
1-10 ounce package of fresh white button mushrooms, sliced
½ cup (1 stick) margarine or butter
1 green pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, with greens, chopped
½ cup flour
1 tsp. McCormick’s Season All (don’t skip this; it’s really essential)
1 ½ cups plain unsweetened Silk soy milk (green container) or whole milk
1 ¼ cups water
½ cup sherry
1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon concentrate (Better Than Bouillon, for instance)
Cayenne pepper to taste
2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and cut into 1 inch pieces, or approximately 3-4 cups cooked cubed chicken. Or turkey, for that matter, in which case it would be turkey a la King. Or chicken-flavoured Seitan, making it Seitan a la King, which sounds vaguely Devil-worshipful.
1-7 ounce jar pimientos, chopped
Rice or noodles or biscuits, for serving
Melt butter/margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute mushrooms, green pepper, and celery for five minutes.
Add flour and Season All. Cook over low heat,stirring constantly, for two minutes.
Add all remaining ingredients except chicken, pimientos and rice/noodles/biscuits. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened.
Add chicken and pimientos. Heat through. Adjust seasonings.
Serve over rice or noodles or biscuits. Or all three.
Serves 5.
PS: For an interesting history of Chicken a la King, visit www.leitesculinaria.com.
Chef’s Surprise! How did they ever get us to fall for that? As a grown up no one could persuade you to eat “Chef’s Surprise”…unless, of course, they charged you a hundred bucks for it and called it a “tastings menu.”
Chicken a la King, a prime example of ice cream scoop cafeteria fare, is worth a second look. If prepared well, it’s got a chicken-y flavor kids (and grown ups) love. It’s quick and easy to prepare with the boon of rapid cuisine, a rotisserie chicken. It packs in a fair amount of vegetables. It has a delicious, creamy sauce without a speck of cream (and no condensed soups). And you can make it vegan by replacing the chicken with tofu and the chicken broth with vegan “chick’n” bouillon (at veganessentials.com).
OK, there’s that stick of butter or margarine which stops it from being completely virtuous, so on nights when you serve it, it’s best to skip the Bloomin’ Onion appetizer.
When it comes to kid appeal, I must confess that this wonderful dish was not an immediate hit with my six-year-old son Harry. He took one look at it and pronounced, “It looks like throw up.”
“How ironic you say that, Sugar Lump,” I responded dryly. “It is throw up.”
Of course I didn’t say that. Because you can’t use the word ‘ironic’ on a six year old; they don’t get it.
He was right about the throw up resemblance, however. His skepticism was heightened by the presence of mushrooms, which he hates. It doesn’t help that the first time we tried to feed him mushrooms, my husband Henry described them as a fungus, ”fungus” being a word Harry had only previously heard in TV ads for toenail fungus treatments (on those rare occasions when we allow him to watch anything other than PBS, of course. In French.)
So how did I get the Chicken a la King into Harry’s reluctant mushhog? By using a line that almost always works:
“You don’t have to eat it. You only have to try it.”
As they say, the first bite is the hardest. For some reason the lack of a practical difference between “eating” and “trying” hasn’t occurred to Harry. In the meantime, I’ll bet I could get him to eat worms using this line (not that I plan to, mind you).
Chicken a la King
1-10 ounce package of fresh white button mushrooms, sliced
½ cup (1 stick) margarine or butter
1 green pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, with greens, chopped
½ cup flour
1 tsp. McCormick’s Season All (don’t skip this; it’s really essential)
1 ½ cups plain unsweetened Silk soy milk (green container) or whole milk
1 ¼ cups water
½ cup sherry
1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon concentrate (Better Than Bouillon, for instance)
Cayenne pepper to taste
2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and cut into 1 inch pieces, or approximately 3-4 cups cooked cubed chicken. Or turkey, for that matter, in which case it would be turkey a la King. Or chicken-flavoured Seitan, making it Seitan a la King, which sounds vaguely Devil-worshipful.
1-7 ounce jar pimientos, chopped
Rice or noodles or biscuits, for serving
Melt butter/margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute mushrooms, green pepper, and celery for five minutes.
Add flour and Season All. Cook over low heat,stirring constantly, for two minutes.
Add all remaining ingredients except chicken, pimientos and rice/noodles/biscuits. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened.
Add chicken and pimientos. Heat through. Adjust seasonings.
Serve over rice or noodles or biscuits. Or all three.
Serves 5.
PS: For an interesting history of Chicken a la King, visit www.leitesculinaria.com.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Dip It And They Will Eat
One sure way to get your kids to eat vegetables and fruit is to cut them into spears – the fruits and veggies, not the kids – and give them a delicious dip to dunk them in.
Here are three great dips that work. The onion dip is so ridiculously well known I feel guilty including it; it’s here only to encourage you to try tofu sour cream – I use the Tofutti brand largely because I think it’s the only one. It makes the recipe vegan and squashes tofu into your kid’s diet; I consider that a positive, and experts who know more about such things than I do assure me that eating tofu will not make little boys grow man tits. Flavour-wise, if you can tell the difference between tofutti sour cream and dairy sour cream-based onion dip your palate is considerably more discerning than mine.
Incidentally, if you have friends who insist that they hate tofu, serve them this dip with veggies or chips without telling them what’s in it. Bring up tofu, and wait for them to say, “Yuck! I never eat tofu!”
“You just did,” you respond nonchalantly.
“I’m not going to grow man tits, am I?” they ask.
“Not according to the experts,” you assure them.
The hummus recipe makes the best hummus I’ve ever tried. Hummus can tend to be boring, if you don’t zest it up a bit it resembles wallpaper paste. No matter how adventurous a palate a kid has, wallpaper paste is a tough sell. This hummus is distinctly non-wallpaper-past-y, and has the added benefit of being relatively low in fat, to boot.
Finally, the vegan dream fruit dip. Absolutely sensational; I’ve made my reputation at many a party serving this dip. You may question the cognac in a recipe meant for children, but it certainly helps the rugrats sleep well. Ar ar ar. But seriously, it’s only a little bit of cognac, and you can always leave it out; the dip still rocks.
ONION DIP (VEGAN)
1-12 ounce tub Tofutti brand “Better Than Sour Cream”
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Mix the sour cream and soup mix together with a fork. Better yet, get your kid to do it for you. That’ll keep them busy while you start to hack up the vegetables you’ll use as dippers, or if you do as we do at my house, open the Stew Leonard’s veggie tray.
The dip is better if you refrigerate it for a couple of hours; the onions soften. But it never lasts that long at our house, and we don’t mind the crunchy onions.
HUMMUS (YEP, ALSO VEGAN)
2 cups drained, canned chickpeas; reserve 2 Tablespoons liquid
1/3 cup tahini
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 4 whole cloves)
1 Tablespoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste; a little goes a long way)
Paprika (for garnish)
1 Tablespoon olive oil (for garnish)
Alfalfa sprouts (for garnish, optional)
In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, process all non-garnish ingredients until smooth. Put into serving bowl. Sprinkle with paprika. Drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with alfalfa sprouts if you like. Serve with quartered pita breads and veggie spears (carrots, celery, peppers, cukes, or any others your kids like).
VEGAN DREAM FRUIT DIP
12 ounces (1 ½ tubs) Tofutti “Better Than Cream Cheese”
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup Tofutti “Better Than Sour Cream”
7 ounces marshmallow ice cream topping (I use Smucker’s; you can use Marshmallow Fluff but it’s not vegan)
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons cognac or brandy (optional)
Put cream cheese in food processor; process until smooth. Add confectioner’s sugar and process until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and process until blended. Dips are so easy, aren’t they? You really don’t need directions.
Chill for several hours. Serve with fruit and even cubed poundcake if you like, but of course that defeats the point of getting your kids to eat healthier.
Incidentally, this makes a great filling for a fruit tart. Make (or buy) a graham cracker crust, ladle in as much dream fruit dip as will fit, and chill til firm. Have your kids help you to artfully arrange fruits on top – kiwi slices are pretty and tasty, too – and coat with melted apple jelly. Beautiful, delicious, and thrifty, too – you saved yourself a bundle over buying it at Balducci’s.
Here are three great dips that work. The onion dip is so ridiculously well known I feel guilty including it; it’s here only to encourage you to try tofu sour cream – I use the Tofutti brand largely because I think it’s the only one. It makes the recipe vegan and squashes tofu into your kid’s diet; I consider that a positive, and experts who know more about such things than I do assure me that eating tofu will not make little boys grow man tits. Flavour-wise, if you can tell the difference between tofutti sour cream and dairy sour cream-based onion dip your palate is considerably more discerning than mine.
Incidentally, if you have friends who insist that they hate tofu, serve them this dip with veggies or chips without telling them what’s in it. Bring up tofu, and wait for them to say, “Yuck! I never eat tofu!”
“You just did,” you respond nonchalantly.
“I’m not going to grow man tits, am I?” they ask.
“Not according to the experts,” you assure them.
The hummus recipe makes the best hummus I’ve ever tried. Hummus can tend to be boring, if you don’t zest it up a bit it resembles wallpaper paste. No matter how adventurous a palate a kid has, wallpaper paste is a tough sell. This hummus is distinctly non-wallpaper-past-y, and has the added benefit of being relatively low in fat, to boot.
Finally, the vegan dream fruit dip. Absolutely sensational; I’ve made my reputation at many a party serving this dip. You may question the cognac in a recipe meant for children, but it certainly helps the rugrats sleep well. Ar ar ar. But seriously, it’s only a little bit of cognac, and you can always leave it out; the dip still rocks.
ONION DIP (VEGAN)
1-12 ounce tub Tofutti brand “Better Than Sour Cream”
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Mix the sour cream and soup mix together with a fork. Better yet, get your kid to do it for you. That’ll keep them busy while you start to hack up the vegetables you’ll use as dippers, or if you do as we do at my house, open the Stew Leonard’s veggie tray.
The dip is better if you refrigerate it for a couple of hours; the onions soften. But it never lasts that long at our house, and we don’t mind the crunchy onions.
HUMMUS (YEP, ALSO VEGAN)
2 cups drained, canned chickpeas; reserve 2 Tablespoons liquid
1/3 cup tahini
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 4 whole cloves)
1 Tablespoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste; a little goes a long way)
Paprika (for garnish)
1 Tablespoon olive oil (for garnish)
Alfalfa sprouts (for garnish, optional)
In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, process all non-garnish ingredients until smooth. Put into serving bowl. Sprinkle with paprika. Drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with alfalfa sprouts if you like. Serve with quartered pita breads and veggie spears (carrots, celery, peppers, cukes, or any others your kids like).
VEGAN DREAM FRUIT DIP
12 ounces (1 ½ tubs) Tofutti “Better Than Cream Cheese”
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup Tofutti “Better Than Sour Cream”
7 ounces marshmallow ice cream topping (I use Smucker’s; you can use Marshmallow Fluff but it’s not vegan)
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons cognac or brandy (optional)
Put cream cheese in food processor; process until smooth. Add confectioner’s sugar and process until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and process until blended. Dips are so easy, aren’t they? You really don’t need directions.
Chill for several hours. Serve with fruit and even cubed poundcake if you like, but of course that defeats the point of getting your kids to eat healthier.
Incidentally, this makes a great filling for a fruit tart. Make (or buy) a graham cracker crust, ladle in as much dream fruit dip as will fit, and chill til firm. Have your kids help you to artfully arrange fruits on top – kiwi slices are pretty and tasty, too – and coat with melted apple jelly. Beautiful, delicious, and thrifty, too – you saved yourself a bundle over buying it at Balducci’s.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Soba Salad
Welcome to this new “food kids like” blog. If your kid is reluctant to try new foods, this is the place to look. I can’t guarantee your kid will eat this stuff, of course – but I can promise you that mine, six-year-old Harry, does. He’s not the pickiest eater in the world, mind you. That title belongs to his friend Clara, who to all appearances lives on a three-food diet consisting of bread, black olives and cucumbers. But Harry does turn up his nose at anything new, and getting him to eat a novel dish – particularly if it’s vaguely exotic – is a victory.
About this soba salad. There are many noodle salads, but this is particularly tasty. The soba noodles – which you can find in some grocery stores and all health food and Whole Foods stores – add a slightly nutty flavor. You can substitute regular or whole wheat thin spaghetti if you like, but if you do you’ll sacrifice a certain je ne sais quoi.
Imagine offering to bring a dish to the home of a friend who is treating you to dinner. “I’ll bring my soba salad,” you say casually.
“Wow! Thanks!” says friend, impressed with your worldliness.
Contrast that with you offering, “I’ll bring my spaghetti salad.”
“Peasant!” sniffs your friend.
By way of other modifications, you can cut down on the sesame oil – I’ve seen recipes that call for as little as a teaspoon – and you can increase the dressing and add other vegetables, like bean sprouts. You know better than me how many vegetables you can foist on your kid, after all.
SOBA SALAD
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1-8 oz package soba noodles (or whole wheat or white thin spaghetti)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar (plain, not seasoned; seasoned rice vinegar is very sweet)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sugar
A handful of sugar snap peas or snow peas, de-tipped, de-stringed if it matters to you and you’re not lazy, and sliced on the diagonal
A handful of julienned carrots (you can find them by the bag in the salad section of the grocery store, or you can cut two large carrots into matchsticks)
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
Salt to taste
Toast the sesame seeds: over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet, shaking the skillet periodically. (Be careful; for a few minutes they won’t do anything, and then in rapid succession they will go from tan to brown to bursting into flame. Trust me; this I know from bitter experience.) Set the sesame seeds aside.
Cook the soba noodles just until tender, per package directions. While the noodles cook, prepare the dressing. Combine the soy, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar. I whisk them together with a fork in a glass measuring cup to minimize dirty dishes and for ease in pouring. Set aside.
Drain the noodles in a colander. Put in a large bowl and add the peas, carrots and red pepper. Toss to combine. Add the dressing; toss. Taste and add salt if you like. We find the soy makes it salty enough, but you might prefer it saltier.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
Serves 4, or 3 people who love it as much as my family does.
About this soba salad. There are many noodle salads, but this is particularly tasty. The soba noodles – which you can find in some grocery stores and all health food and Whole Foods stores – add a slightly nutty flavor. You can substitute regular or whole wheat thin spaghetti if you like, but if you do you’ll sacrifice a certain je ne sais quoi.
Imagine offering to bring a dish to the home of a friend who is treating you to dinner. “I’ll bring my soba salad,” you say casually.
“Wow! Thanks!” says friend, impressed with your worldliness.
Contrast that with you offering, “I’ll bring my spaghetti salad.”
“Peasant!” sniffs your friend.
By way of other modifications, you can cut down on the sesame oil – I’ve seen recipes that call for as little as a teaspoon – and you can increase the dressing and add other vegetables, like bean sprouts. You know better than me how many vegetables you can foist on your kid, after all.
SOBA SALAD
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1-8 oz package soba noodles (or whole wheat or white thin spaghetti)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar (plain, not seasoned; seasoned rice vinegar is very sweet)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sugar
A handful of sugar snap peas or snow peas, de-tipped, de-stringed if it matters to you and you’re not lazy, and sliced on the diagonal
A handful of julienned carrots (you can find them by the bag in the salad section of the grocery store, or you can cut two large carrots into matchsticks)
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
Salt to taste
Toast the sesame seeds: over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet, shaking the skillet periodically. (Be careful; for a few minutes they won’t do anything, and then in rapid succession they will go from tan to brown to bursting into flame. Trust me; this I know from bitter experience.) Set the sesame seeds aside.
Cook the soba noodles just until tender, per package directions. While the noodles cook, prepare the dressing. Combine the soy, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar. I whisk them together with a fork in a glass measuring cup to minimize dirty dishes and for ease in pouring. Set aside.
Drain the noodles in a colander. Put in a large bowl and add the peas, carrots and red pepper. Toss to combine. Add the dressing; toss. Taste and add salt if you like. We find the soy makes it salty enough, but you might prefer it saltier.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
Serves 4, or 3 people who love it as much as my family does.
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