By Henry Gould – May 28th, 2019

Judging by the weather, summer has officially arrived in Vancouver. The days are longer, the willpower to resist patio drinks is basically zero, and the desire to turn an oven on to make dinner is definitely out of the question.

The solution? A lovely chilled noodle salad! This recipe is great for a number of reasons:

• It’s vegan (unless you add other protein)
• It’s gluten free (soba / buckwheat noodles are GF)
• It tastes amazing
• It will keep for a few days
• There is very minimal cooking required
• It’s a blank canvas for any other vegetables or items you want to add

Obviously the base recipe is vegan, but feel free to add whatever protein you like to the finished product (cooked chicken, hard boiled eggs, canned tuna, roasted chickpeas, tofu, prawns, etc etc).

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Chilled Buckwheat Noodle Salad w/ Tahini Dressing

• Soba / Buckwheat noodles, 125g per person
• Baby spinach, 1 handful per person
• 1 red pepper, julienned
• Green onions, finely sliced
• 1 garlic clove, grated finely
• 1 small piece of ginger, grated finely
• 5-6 tablespoons Tahini
• 1-2 tablespoons Soy sauce
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons Sesame oil
• Honey
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Get a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Season the water with salt. Drop the baby spinach in and blanch for 10 seconds then take out with a strainer and drain in a colander and allow to cool. Set aside. Add the buckwheat noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions. Remove from the water and drain thoroughly, then give a quick rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

To make the dressing, add the garlic and ginger to a bowl along with the tahini, sesame oil, juice of half the lemon, soy sauce, a pinch of salt, black pepper and some honey. Add a little water and then mix thoroughly. If it’s too thick, add a bit more more water and keep stirring. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning with more lemon juice, honey, salt and soy sauce to your taste. You can also add hot sauce / sriracha if you like it spicy.

Add the spinach, red peppers and green onion to your buckwheat noodles in a bowl and dress with the dressing.