Recipe: Cold Sesame Noodle Salad & Sesame Dressing

 For my step-dad's birthday my sister and I commandeered my mom's kitchen and cooked us all dinner. I handled the savory (the dish and a fennel & summer squash soup), while my sister brought the most fabulous Sticky Toffee Pudding, delicious but sadly not so Ayurveda blog appropriate. However, this delicious Sesame Noodle Salad is! It's so pretty, was fairly easy and looks very pretty on a plate. Since I knew I wanted to cook something special for the occasion, I turned to Heaven's Banquet by Miriam Kasin Hospodar. It has recipes inspired by an array of different cuisines, and I haven't had a dud so far. Though the layout of the individual recipes makes cooking very easy, it's not as easy to understand the effects of the foods on the doshas as some other Ayurvedic cookbooks. Nonetheless, it's a great book to have on hand. And one more thing, she does an excellent job in the introductory chapters on how the nuts & bolts of attuning one's diet to Ayurvedic principles (kitchen necessities, timing, menu recommendations). 

Serves 6. 

Recipe derived from Heaven's Banquet by M. Hospodar

2 cups tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths

1/3 pound (150 g) vermicelli

2 T sesame oil

liquid seasoning (Bragg's liquid aminos)

pinch of hing (a.k.a. asafoetida)

salt

black pepper

Sesame Dressing (recipe follows)

to garnish:

2 cups julienned cucumbers

chopped cilantro

Saute in the sesame oil over medium-high heat the hing, tofu and liquid seasoning until the tofu turns golden brown. Add the asparagus, sprinkle with salt, and cook covered for 3-4 minutes until the asparagus is "crisp-tender". Remove from the heat immediately. Separately, cook the pasta until al dente. Do not overcook. Drain and run cold water over it to stop the cooking. Toss with half of the Sesame Dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve: spread the noodles on a platter, then tofu-asparagus mixture over them, then cucumbers. Drizzle remaining Sesame Dressing on top and sprinkle generous amount of cilantro on top. 

SESAME DRESSING

(makes a little over 1/2 cup)

1/3 c sesame oil (or other mild flavored oil)

1/2 c coarsely chopped bell peppers

2 T coarsely chopped fresh ginger

1/3 c sesame seeds

pinch of hing

3 T lemon juice

1 T raw sugar

1/3 c water

liquid seasoning

toasted sesame oil

black pepper

Saute hing and sesame seeds in sesame oil over low heat until the sesame seeds just being to turn golden. Add the bell peppers and continue to saute until the seeds are well browned. Add the ginger, stir well then remove from heat. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Then combine the sesame mixture with the lemon juice, sugar, water and drizzle of toasted sesame oil in a blender until it is as smooth as possible. Add more water if necessary. Season to taste with liquid seasoning and pepper.

• Vata: Great for Vata! Could make even a little spicier by not sauteing the ginger or adding dried red chilies to the oil. 
• Pitta: Replace the sesame seeds with almonds. Do not make any spicier. 
• Kapha: Replace the sesame seeds with sunflower seeds and use soba noodles.

• For my Cleansers: Be sure to use rice noodles, and omit the tofu. Did you know sesame seeds are a good source of protein? "A good source of protein and calcium, 100g sesame seeds contain 26.4g protein, 12.6mg vitamin B3, 7.8mg iron, 131mg calcium and 10.3mg zinc." ~ The Vegetarian Society

Mag's & Me just before serving dinner :)