Chilled Soba Noodle Salad w/Ginger-Sesame-Almond Dressing {Gluten-Free}

Nothing beats a cool crisp soba salad on a hot sunny day.  It’s the perfect summer lunch or evening BBQ side.  This one is light and refreshing, yet still hearty enough to satisfy a hungry belly.  I love sobas for that reason… they have substance, but they’re super light still.

Soba noodles are typically made from buckwheat. Despite the name, it is not wheat at all.  It’s actually a fruit seed related to rhubarb, and is thought to be very healthy and full of aminos.  Buckwheat noodles are gluten-free, so they’re a great option for Paleo peops, gluten-free peops, or just those wanting a tasty noodle salad.  In winter, I love making warm noodle bowls stocked with sobas, but in spring and summer, it’s all about the chilled soba salad.

I’m a big fan of colorful food.  Not only does color symbolize an array of nutrients (eat the rainbow, they say!), but it’s also nice to look at it.  I’m all about eye candy.  If you can’t get your hands on multi-colored veggies, no biggie… some orange carrots, red bell peppers, and green snap peas will be beautiful enough!

The dressing is a gingery-almond-tahini sauce that goes perfectly with the earthiness of the noodles.  Clearly, you could toss this with any dressing you like, but I’m a fan of making up new sauces and condiments, and I really like Thai-inspired flavors with soba salads.

This makes a pretty large serving, but it’ll will keep well for days refrigerated… makes awesome leftovers!  I brought it to work for lunch the couple days following… so so good as a quick meal on the go. 🙂

This salad could easily made a more hefty meal by adding in cooked prawns, chicken, or extra vegetables.  Get creative… start with the basic, and if you want, just keep adding 😉

makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

for the salad…

1 cup shaved carrots, varied colors optional

1 cup thinly sliced bell pepper, varied colors optional

1 cup thinly sliced cabbage, any kind you like

1 cup snap peas

½ cup chopped green onions

½ cup chopped cilantro, leaves only

approx. 6 oz uncooked buckwheat soba noodles

optional: sesame seeds and crushed red pepper, for garnish

 

 

for the dressing…

¼ cup almond butter (preferably raw, unsalted)

2 tsp tamari or coconut aminos (I use this)

1 ¼ tsp honey (preferably raw, I like this one)

½ tsp fresh lime juice

¼ tsp fresh finely grated ginger

1/8 tsp red chili pepper flakes

¼ tsp toasted sesame oil

1/8 tsp salt

¼ cup warm water

Directions

To make the dressing…

   

Add the almond butter, tamari, honey, lime juice, ginger, chilli pepper, sesame oil,

salt, and water to a food processor and blend until smooth (alternatively, you could whisk them together in a bowl)

     

Taste and adjust seasonings as desired

Pour the dressing into a small bowl or jar… set aside while you prepare the salad

To make the salad…

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrots into long thin shavings

 

Slice the bell pepper into thin strips (if using large bell peppers, slice them into bite-size pieces

If using baby bells, you can slice them into thin rounds

Thinly slice the cabbage and chop green onions

Slice any stems off of peas and prep cilantro leaves

 

Cook the soba noodles according to the package – typically, it requires boiling

the noodles in lightly salted water for about 5-7 minutes, until soft

Then strain the water and allow the noodles to cool

To assemble the salad…

Add the cooled noodles to a large serving bowl

Add the veggies and dressing…

Toss until evenly coated

Serve portions…

Top with cilantro

… and garnish with sesame seeds if you’d like

That’s it!  Serve cold or at room-temp and enjoy!!