Soba Noodles with Scallions and Cabbage

(adapted from yummly.com)
8 oz soba noodles
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup tahini
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup chili oil
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 Tbsp brown rice vinegar
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 bunch scallions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1 1/2 cups thinly shredded cabbage
handful chopped cilantro

- Pour soy sauce into a small sauce pan and reduce by half over high heat.

- Combine soy sauce, tahini, sugar, oils, and vinegars. Mix well.

- Bring a pot of water to a boil, cook soba noodles for 3 minutes and drain. Rinse with cold water.

- Combine noodles, sauce, and scallions in a large bowl and refrigerate

- Before serving, stir in cabbage and cilantro

Tomato Ceviche, Nobu Style

This is the best tomato salad I may have eaten. Ever. We tweaked the recipe for the ceviche sauce, omitting the salt & pepper it called for, improvising a yuzu sauce we didn't have, and subsituting sambal for aji amarillo paste. This recipe will amaze you. I plan on eating it plenty until we are out of heirloom tomatoes for the season!

TOMATO CEVICHE, NOBU STYLE

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
3 heirloom tomatoes, various colors and sizes, chopped
4 teaspoons cilantro leaves
1/4 cup Ceviche Sauce (see below for recipe)

- Combine the tomatoes and cilantro in a bowl
- Toss gently with the Ceviche Sauce

Ceviche Sauce
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lime
Juice of 1/2 small orange
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon sambal

- combine all of the ingredients

Tofu Green Curry, Spring Rolls and Zucchini Cakes with Curried Dipping Sauce

Sunday night cooking at our house last night. I had spring roll wrappers and chopped veggies at the ready, a half block of tofu and 3/4 can of coconut milk leftover in the fridge and a gorgeous zucchini from the farmer's market. This meal was born, a blend of thai and middle eastern flavors. The zucchini pancakes were an old favorite, spiced up with a new dipping sauce, the spring rolls a new favorite I foresee making frequently in the future.

Tofu Green Curry

Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Zucchini Cakes with Curried Dipping Sauce

Zucchini Cakes with Curried Dipping Sauce

I adore zucchini pancakes and love pairing them with different dipping sauces. We are starting to see beautiful zucchini in gardens and at the markets and I couldn't resist making this today.

ZUCCHINI CAKES

1 - 1 1/2 lb zucchini
1 small white onion
1 egg
6 Tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper

- Heat oven to 200

- Using a box grater, grate the zucchini and onion. Set in a colander and let drain for awhile (30 minutes recommended).

- Squeeze out as much of the excess liquid as possible and lay the vegetables out on paper towels.

- Lightly beat the egg.

- In a large bowl combine the zucchini onion mixture, egg, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.

- On the stove top heat a skillet with oil over medium high heat

- Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the skillet and flatten. Cook on one side until crispy and brown then flip.

- Set cakes on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil and move to an oven proof plate to keep warm while finishing the rest.

- Continue this way until all of the batter is gone, adding extra oil to the skillet as needed

CURRIED DIPING SAUCE

8 oz. plain yogurt
2 Tbsp curry
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp harissa
salt

- Mix all ingredients in a bowl and chill until serving.

Grilled Keftas with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce and a Cucumber, Tomato, Feta Salad

We were craving middle eastern last night and decided to revisit a recipe for grilled keftas (ground lamb skewers) and try out a yogurt-tahini sauce to bring to our friends' house for dinner. I threw together a quick tomato, cucumber, feta salad and served everything with pita, carmelized red onions and sauted yellow peppers. The keftas are an old favorite, the yogurt tahini sauce a new favorite, every bit of it was sopped up with pita!

Follow the link for the recipes...

TZATZIKI

TZATZIKI


1 package greek yogurt
1 cucumber peeled, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Dill (use fresh if possible, if not substitute dried)
Black pepper

Salt the cucumbers and set over a colander. This will draw out some of the liquid to prevent the sauce from becoming too watery

After about 20 minutes, pat dry the cucmber and add to a food processor with the garlic, lemon and some black pepper and dill.

Process and then mix into the yogurt. Chill.

This sauce is best made in the summer with fresh herbs but it works even in the dead of winter!