Oooh this is a good one. This wonderful little recipe reminds me of summer-time family parties on the patio, where our loving guests would spread their various potluck additions out along the picnic tables, and I would grab a plate and search out that giant Tupperware bowl that I knew to contain this dish. I would later learn that it was my own voracious consumption of this noodle salad during these parties that led Patti – my sister’s godmother, and our eternal family friend – to ultimately double her original recipe in an effort to provide the party (read: ME) with more than three pounds of this delectable pasta.
Don’t expect a healthy plate here. It’s no surprise that I love this dish – it’s sugar, oil and carbs in a bowl – but that’s what makes it wonderful. That, and the warm wave of nostalgia that washes over me each time a get to enjoy Patti’s Asian Noodle Salad.
In this specific case, I’ve halved the original recipe. While my inner fat kid would be perfectly happy with three pounds of sesame pasta sitting in the fridge waiting to be scarfed down, I have to remind myself that he was already allowed to control my eating habits once this year. This could be served as a full meal, but I personally think it works better alongside something grilled.
I also went super fancy with this version, and used 3/4 of a pound of my homemade spinach pasta instead of the boxed fettuccine that I would have normally used. This step, while completely unnecessary, proved to be a delicious way to utilize the product of my favorite new hobby.
Ingredients:
- ¾ lb linguine or fettuccine
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ in peeled ginger root
- ½ tbsp dijon mustard
- ¼ cup sesame oil
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1.5 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 5 scallions – chopped
Cook the pasta al dente, drain it, and run cold water through it until it’s around room temperature.
Break out the food processor, and puree the garlic, ginger, mustard, sesame oil, olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and molasses.
Toss the mixture with the pasta, sesame seeds and chopped scallions.
Enjoy at room temperature or refrigerated, and make sure to share it with friends!
Love, Food & Beer 