Heatwave Noodles
aka Spicy Tahini Lime Noodle Salad
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People will claim to hate cold noodles, but when a heatwave descends, nobody can resist their refreshingly zesty vibe.
When I first started writing my new cook book Stress-Free Dinners, almost two years ago now, my goal was to help remove some of the barriers between home-cooks and delicious plant-based food. This began how you might expect: quick recipes, cheap recipes, recipes that even a toddler could make. But eventually I reached a sort of philosophical cliff-edge; if a recipe is so easy that is actually involves ZERO cooking, is it still a recipe? That was the dilemma thrown up by this “Heatwave Noodles” recipe.
I’m calling it this because these noodles are basically the only thing I’ve eaten in the last two weeks of scorching sun, criminally high humidity and zero rain. In Manchester. FYI, it’s not supposed to be like this.
ANYWAY! These noodles come together without even having to turn on the stove. They’re packed with veggies and leafy greens and zesty lime and yet somehow feel indulgent and highly slurpable.
The sauce is mixed together in the serving bowl, to save on washing up, and let me take this moment to recommend using the Original Sesame Paste from Hwa Nan foods (see the video below). It’s like nothing you’ve ever tasted - so toasty and nutty! The sweet heat comes from gochujang while the zesty kick comes from fresh lime juice. It’s finished with massaged kale (I like using cavolo nero), cucumber, spring onions and pre-cooked edamame beans.
I’ve tried this recipe with so many different kinds of noodle, and all of them were amazing, but if you’re going to avoid the stove you’ll need to use thin rice noodles. Alternatively, soba work beautifully too.
This recipe is in the no-cook chapter of my new cook book, which means there are loads of other heatwave-friendly dinners in there, ready for the next time you’re too hot to turn on the stove. For paid subscribers, I’ve put the recipe at the bottom of the newsletter, to say thank you for your huge support. This substack would not be here without you (and who knows, maybe I wouldn’t either), so thank you! Please enjoy the recipe!
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Now for a quick…
My Book Came Out!
The big day we’ve all been waiting for (well me..). It’s been a rather intense couple of weeks but we made it! You can find Stress-Free Dinners in all good book shops (just UK for now, hold on for a little longer everyone else) or just order right here.
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to anyone who’s pre-ordered or bought the book so far! We got to number 8 in the Amazon vegan charts yesterday - which is very exciting!
School Night Supperclub!
I teamed up with Finks to host my first ever supper club this week and it was just the best! A lot of what I do takes place online, and although loads of you tag me in photos of the stuff you’ve cooked, I don’t always get to see you enjoying my food. So naturally, getting to sit and watch a bunch of you eat my recipes (in a non-creepy way) was an absolute fantasy!
Dog Tax
OK, that’s it for now. Here’s Ripley snoozing after I came back from London. I think she had fun at Nanny’s house.
Now it’s time for…
Heatwave Noodles
It’s been one of those days where you blinked somewhere around 9.45am and somehow it’s now 8.30pm. It’s an orange alert for hanger outbursts and that out of date granola bar in your handbag barely touched the sides. Luckily this nutritious dinner requires zero cooking and can be on the table in ten minutes. Crisis averted!
Serves 2
