cold peanut noodles

Friday is an interesting day for me, foodwise, because it is the day when I do not exercise and, therefore, have more time on my hands. It is also typically the day before my longest run of the week, which means that it's an important day to eat well so I can power through my Saturday morning miles. While contemplating the scheduled 15-mile training run I had on tap for the next morning, I knew for sure that pasta would be the main event. I didn't have any meat, tofu or fish in the house (other than canned tuna, which was decidedly not singing to me), but I wanted a good source of protein in my meal. And that's when it hit me: cold peanut noodles! Using a healthy dose of peanut butter in the sauce, I'd get my protein and a nice hit of fat, too. I grabbed my Bittman cooking bible, which was still out on the counter after another cooking adventure earlier in the week, and excitedly flipped through to the pasta section. Not only was it ridiculously easy to pull together, I also didn't have to leave the house to buy a single ingredient.

That is, I made the recipe work using the slightly-different-than-called-for ingredients that I already had. Namely, dried thin whole-wheat spaghetti for the noodles, regular sesame oil rather than dark, sriracha as my hot sauce, and an unmeasured amount of scallions equal to the only good parts remaining from a bunch that had seen better days. I added frozen edamame to the mix and steamed a mix of bok choy and spinach to make it a meal.

One note about the hot sauce: I added it bit by bit as the noodles were cooking, then left the sauce to hang out while the noodles chilled. When I returned to the sauce, it was much spicier than I remembered it--probably to be expected, since all the different parts had had time to get to know each other better--which for me was a good thing, because I like spicy food. If you do not, consider seasoning with caution.

Cold noodles with peanut sauce
Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
Time: About 40 minutes

12 oz. fresh egg noodles or any dried noodles, such as spaghetti
1/2 to 1 cup frozen shelled soybeans
2 Tbsp. dark sesame oil, divided
1/2 c. natural peanut butter
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
Hot sesame oil, chili-garlic sauce, Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
At last 1/2 c. minced scallions for garnish

1. Cook noodles in boiling salted water according to package instructions until tender but not mushy. A minute or two before they're done, add soybeans to the pot. Drain, then rinse in cold water for a minute or two. Toss with half the sesame oil and refrigerate up to two hours, or proceed with recipe.

2. While pasta cooks, make the sauce: Beat together peanut butter, honey, soy sauce and vinegar. Add a little hot sauce and salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Thin sauce with hot water (I took it straight from the pasta pot), so that it is about the consistency of heavy cream.

3. Toss together noodles and sauce, and add more of any seasoning if necessary. Drizzle with remaining sesame oil, garnish and serve.