Peanut Noodle Slaw
We have bean leftovers aplenty in the fridge. (And outside the back door, and in the barbecue.) But I couldn’t bring myself to reheat and eat any of them. Instead I hacked up a half cabbage that needed to be used, and added some sliced pepper and green onions and cilantro. The dressing, I decided, would be peanut – and so when W pulled out a baggie of leftover spaghetti (unsauced) from the fridge, it seemed like a natural addition. The texture of spaghetti takes well to long, thinly sliced cabbage, actually – it was like the noodles themselves were cut with noodles made of crunchy cabbage. You could add anything to this, of course – pea pods, carrots, cucumber, jicama, broccoli.
W was distraught when he came back to the kitchen and witnessed what I had done to his precious spaghetti. One of these days I’m going to let him bring a baggie of spaghetti to school in his snack, just to break the mold. Who says a to-go snack must be carrot sticks or an apple or granola bar? Spaghetti is perfectly portable. Life would be more interesting, I think, if more grown ups sat down on park benches and dug into their bags of spaghetti. And then made Valentines for everyone in their class. (Couldn’t that be a metaphor for so many things?)
Peanut Noodle Slaw
Dressing:
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar or lime juice
1-2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1-2 garlic cloves, finely crushed
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)Slaw:
leftover cooked spaghetti
thinly sliced green cabbage
thinly sliced peppers
coarsely grated carrots
chopped green onions
chopped fresh cilantro
toasted sesame seedsShake all the dressing ingredients together in a jar. (You could do this anytime, and keep it in the fridge.) Toss the spaghetti, cabbage and veggies of your choice together, toss with the dressing, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve.
February 09 2011 | salads and vegetarian | 10 Comments »
