Cold Sesame Noodles

Last week I made Cold Sesame Noodles with one of my clients who likes Asian food.  She took half home and I kept the rest.  It was Hil's birthday and that night we went to the Bulldog to celebrate.  Afterwards, a group of people ended up at our house...all I can say is that this makes a great late night snack!

Cold Sesame Noodles

adapted from Marthastewart.com

Makes 8 servings

salt
1 pound whole wheat linguine or fettuccine

1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

8 ounces snow peas, slivered lengthwise

1 red bell pepper, cut into long thin strips

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup hot water

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, toss drained pasta with sesame oil (to prevent sticking).  Add snow peas, bell pepper, scallions, carrots, and cilantro. *At this point you could also add any type of cooked protein, such as shrimp or chicken.

In a blender, puree peanut butter, garlic,soy sauce, vinegar, hot water (this helps thin out the pb), and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Pour dressing over noodles and vegetables; toss to coat.  Serve chilled or at room temperature (it's good hot too).

Per serving - 331 calories, 11 g fat (2 g saturated), 44 g carbohydrate, 9 g fiber, 14 g protein (exchanges: 2 fat, 1 vegetable, 2 1/2 starch, 1/2 protein )

Notes - 

• One of the ways I altered this recipe was by adding A LOT more veggies - this is something I always try to do...and in this recipe it will help fill you up so you don't have to eat so much pasta
• Speaking of pasta, did you know the whole wheat kind has 5 - 6 grams of fiber per serving (as oposed to 2 grams in white pasta)?
• I added shrimp when I made this recipe (you may have noticed them in the photo)...I bought boiled shrimp (about 1 pound) from Whole Foods and cut each in half
• I used natural peanut butter and it worked fine, but because it had no added sugar, I added a little brown sugar (about 1 tbsp) to the blender
• Martha says this serves 4...I have news for her, no one needs to eat 4 ounces of pasta at one sitting - I say it serves 8!  And if it's not enough food for you (after adding a protein), serve it with a salad...or leave the protein out and serve the pasta with teriyaki marinated chicken

Lagniappe...

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