Thai Noodle Salad
The Moosewood Collective Moosewood Restaurant Ithaca, New YorkFrom Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant
Serves 6
1 pound angel hair pasta
Sauce
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
¼ cup minced fresh spearmint 1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¾ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste 2 tablespoons minced scallions
Vegetables
Choose any of the following to equal 4 cups:
Small carrots, julienned 1 inch long
Asparagus spears, cut into 1½-inch lengths Red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 2-inch strips
Snow peas, cut in half
Green peas or snap peas
Bean sprouts, blanched and chilled
Scallions, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
Sliced water chestnuts
Garnish
Lime wedges
Roughly chopped roasted peanuts
Minced fresh cilantro (optional)
Cook the linguine in plenty of boiling salted water, drain, and then cool completely. Make the sauce: In a bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
Any combination of vegetables is fine. Let color and contrasting textures be your guide. Prepare the vegetables as follows and set aside together in a bowl. Drop the carrots into boiling water and cook until barely tender. Do the same with asparagus. Blanch the peppers, peas, and bean spouts in boiling water, then plunge immediately into cold water and drain. Add the scallions and water chestnuts to the other vegetables and set the bowl aside to cool.
Combine the noodles, vegetables, and sauce. Mix well and refrigerate until cool, then serve at once. If you must refrigerate the salad longer, keep in mind that noodles absorb flavor like crazy and so you'll need to readjust the seasonings before serving. The salad will keep for about 2 days.
Each diner should have a wedge or two of lime to squeeze on top just before eating. Pass the chopped peanuts and, if you like, some fresh cilantro.
