Friday, November 8, 2013

Green Tea Soba Noodles with Soy-Roasted Salmon and Broad Bean & Radish Salad

Green Tea Soba Noodles with Soy-Roasted Salmon and Broad Bean & Radish Salad 3

"In Season" is our theme this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where we continue our journey with Donna Hay, the queen of wonderfully quick and simple, yet sensationally flavoured food.  This is our opportunity to prepare a dish which represents the best of local, seasonal produce, wherever in the world you might live.

I have to confess this leaves me feeling a little smug, because right now in my part of the world it's spring.  Now I know that there is almost no limit to the wonderful and imaginative things that those of you living in the northern hemisphere can do with a pumpkin and pot roast, but really is there anything more exciting than fresh, crisp, green spring produce.  To me the joy of spring food lies not only in all its glory in its own right, but somehow also as the harbinger of what's to come in the summer ahead.  Quintessential spring food in my part of the world includes asparagus, broad beans, radishes, new potatoes, juicy Nelson scallops and West Coast whitebait.  If you were a keen fisherman that might also include salmon, the season beginning in spring and running through to autumn.

After picking up a well-priced side of salmon at the fishmonger's the other day, and some new season broad beans at the market, I knew my dish would have to include these two ingredients.  After searching through my copy of Donna Hay's "Fast, Fresh, Simple", I came across a recipe for Salmon & Soy Bean Noodle Salad with Wasabi Dressing.  In the latest issue of Donna Hay magazine I also came across a recipe for Green Tea Noodle and Smoked Salmon Salad with Pickled Ginger Dressing.  Both looked wonderful, and what I finally decided on was something of a marriage of the two.  In one recipe Donna used raw, sashimi-style salmon, in the other smoked salmon - I went with my own favourite way of preparing salmon, oven-roasted in a soy marinade.  I also mixed together a dressing which included the pickled ginger from one of Donna's recipe and the wasabi from the other.  The final dressing packed a real flavour punch.

This dish was the perfect combination of fresh spring ingredients, put together in a light and healthy way, and best of all ... preparation was quick and simple - whole thing on the table in less than 30 minutes.  I'll definitely be making this again a few times before spring passes into summer.

Green Tea Soba Noodles with Soy-Roasted Salmon and Broad Bean & Radish Salad 2

Soy-Roasted Salmon Recipe
A Couscous & Consciousness original
Serves 2
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

2x pieces of salmon fillet (skin on, pin bones removed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).

While oven is heating, mix oil, and soy together in a shallow, ovenproof dish which is big enough to hold both pieces of fish in a single layer.  Add salmon to the dish and turn it over in the oil and soy mixture several times, until it is thoroughly coated on all sides.  Add a liberal grinding of black pepper over the top, and set aside to "marinate" until the oven is hot.

Once oven is ready, put the dish of salmon into the oven, reduce heat to 160 degrees C (320 degrees F), and cook for around 8 minutes or until done to your liking.

Green Tea Soba Noodles and
Broad Bean & Radish Salad with
Wasabi Ginger Dressing Recipe
Adapted from recipe by Donna Hay
Serves 2
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

100g (3-1/2 oz) green tea soba noodles
1x cup broad beans, blanched, refreshed & skins removed
2x medium-sized radishes, very thinly sliced
generous handful of peppery salad greens & edible flowers
black sesame seeds (optional)

Dressing:
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste
1 tablespoon finely chopped pickled ginger

Set a medium sized pan of water over high heat and bring to the boil.  Once boiling add the soba noodles to the water, and cook according to packet directions (usually around 5 minutes).

Note:  This would also be the ideal time to put the salmon in the oven.

While noodles and salmon are cooking, prepare dressing by simply whisking all ingredients together in a small jug.

Once noodles are cooked (like pasta, they should be al dente), remove from the heat, drain and refresh under cold running water.  Drain well and toss noodles with half of the dressing.

To serve arrange noodles in a serving bowl or platter, and strew liberally with broad beans, radishes and salad greens.  Add salmon, pour over the remaining dressing, and finish with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds (if using).

Green Tea Soba Noodles with Soy-Roasted Salmon and Broad Bean & Radish Salad 1

If you would like to get to know Donna Hay a little better, and to see all the wonderful seasonally inspired dishes my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links.

IHCC Donna Hay Badge resized

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace, Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays hosted by my special friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen, at Cook Your Books hosted by the lovely Joyce at Kitchen Flavours, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollam.

See Ya in The Gumbo Badge     Weekend Cooking Badge     Souper Sundays Badge     Cook Your Books Badge     Foodie Friday Badge



55 comments:

  1. Lucky you with the summer to come! It's all a bit chilly around here. These noodles look wonderful!

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    1. Thanks, Alicia. Yes, definitely looking forward to summer ahead - both in terms of the glorious, hot, sunny days to come, and all the wonderful summer produce just around the corner.

      Funny thing about these noodles ... I adore soba noodles, one of my hands down favourites, and yet finally enough I don't use them that often, and then every time I make a dish like this I ask myself why the heck not?! Think I'm definitely going to make a point of using soba a lot more over summer, as they really do lend themselves to lighter, summery dishes.

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  2. I can not begin to tell you how good this looks and sounds!

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    1. Thanks, Pam - I know how much you like your salmon and Asian flavours, so I'm sure this dish would be right up your alley.

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  3. Well you should feel smug! That is a lovely presentation and I love to have fish, year round.
    Hope you are well, I see a mighty big typhoon in your hemisphere. Stay safe!

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    1. Thanks, Tina. I enjoy fish all year round too, and salmon is my favourite. In actual fact, even though the season for salmon fishing is right now, unless you actually go out and catch it yourself, you cannot buy wild salmon in New Zealand. All salmon commercially available here is farmed (we have a couple of fisheries producing ocean farmed in my area), so it's available year round.

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  4. I love the Asian feel of this dish. Though I often marinate salmon in soy sauce, I've never thought to dress broadbeans and greens in that way....it makes for a beautiful and delicious sounding meal.

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    1. Thanks, Zosia. The zingy Asian-style dressing was wonderful on the greens - and the radishes loved it too - definitely a keeper.

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  5. Oh, SPRING!! I remember SPRING...and I hope to see it again soon (as in I hope winter will be short!). This is a perfect choice for the goodness of spring. You have a way of making everything so elegant and lovely. Looks delicious!

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    1. Thank you so much, Kayte - you're very kind. Hope you do indeed have a short winter, and will be enjoying spring produce again before you know it. The older we get, the seasons do see to just whiz past, don't they :-)

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  6. This is an excellent representation of spring. The flowers on top brighten the green part of the dish and tie it in with the salmon. So beautiful. I've never been to a spa, but this is what I imagine spa food to be.

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    1. Thanks, Michelle. Funnily, I actually went looking for micro greens which DH had used in the original recipe, and couldn't find any, but as soon as I saw the bag of peppery greens and flowers I knew they would be perfect. You're right, the gorgeous marigold petals do just bring it all together. Actually, I've never been to a spa either, but now you have me wanting to go to one.

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    2. Thank you for linking. My son is now eating my marigolds.
      (he was interested in the flower petals in your dish)

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    3. Michelle, that absolutely made my day :-)

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  7. This is such a beautiful meal! I love the fresh colours of the salad and the vibrant orange of the salmon! Just beautiful! And it looks utterly delicious! I have not come across green tea soba noddles, maybe because I did not notice them before! And the petals makes the dish all the more stunning! Great choice, Sue!
    Thanks for sharing with CYB!

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    1. Thanks, Joyce. This meal was such a delight. Green tea soba noodles are definitely worth trying if you can find them, though regular is just fine too if you can't.

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  8. Beautiful dish, Sue. Salmon is my favourite too. We're lucky to have relatively clean salmon farms in New Zealand producing high quality salmon.

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    1. Thanks, Clare. Yes we are lucky with the quality of farmed salmon that we get here in New Zealand, particularly some of the ocean farmed salmon which comes from just down the road in the Marlborough Sounds.

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  9. Your pictures of your salmon dish are so colorful and enticing. What a healthy and delicious meal you've shared.

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    1. Thanks, Kitty, and thanks for visiting - I hope you'll stop by again :-)

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  10. How wonderful to marry two dishes and come up with something original. Will try your marinade but with Basa fish. Hope that will work. Salmon is only available at gourmet stores and is frightfully expensive. Love that you used wasabi and ginger. That must have packed a punch!!

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    1. Thanks, Sunita. I think the marinade would work with pretty well any fish, but works particularly well with firm-fleshed oil fish such as salmon, ocean trout, mackerel, etc. The wasabi and ginger definitely packed a punch, and added a nice extra layer of flavour on top of the peppery greens and radishes.

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  11. Wow Sue,,,this one is just a beauty! So wonderfully bright & fresh…& I do love salmon & I just got my first load of broad beans in my veggie box this week…so excited for all the spring produce :)

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    1. Thanks, Mairi. I love salmon too - probably my favourite fish - I love the way it is so adaptable and lends itself to inclusion in so many dishes. I'm excited about all the spring produce too - I've been gorging on asparagus nearly daily, and loving the arrival of broad beans. I have broad beans growing in the garden too, but they are probably still a week or so away from beginning to harvest. Hoping for another bumper crop like last year.

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  12. That's really pretty -- I love all the colors. And the black sesame seeds on the white radish.

    Joy's Book Blog

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    1. Thanks, Joy. The black sesame seeds are a lovely finishing touch.

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  13. Wow, what a colorful, delicate dish! All the ingredients look so fresh! I will LIKE it 100 times if you post it to facebook:)

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    1. Thanks, Joy - wow, 100 likes on Facebook - that would be something :-)

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  14. It is the opposite season here in the US, fall, but oh, man, this meal looks delicious!! Salmon is one of my favorite foods anyway, but this whole preparation looks very tasty.

    Sue

    Book By Book

    Book by Book is now on Facebook!

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    1. Thanks, Sue. It's always a bit weird isn't it reading posts about vegetables in the opposite season :-) But in actual fact, although this is highly seasonal here, you could in fact make it pretty much all year round with frozen broad beans (fava) or edamame, and julienned strips of daikon instead of regular radishes.

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  15. Oh wow. I just ate, but I I'm getting hungry for some of this now! This looks great!

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    1. Thanks, Cathleen - this is one of those delightful dishes that doesn't weigh you down too much, so you could probably find room for it :-)

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  16. Gorgeous! I love absolutely everything on this plate--what a fresh, healthy and delicious meal. Thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays this week too! ;-)

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    1. Thanks, Deb - yes I think this dish would definitely be right up your alley. Would no doubt be nice too with a piece of your local Hawaiian fish instead of salmon.

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  17. Oh my goodness, Sue! Can I tell you that looking at this dish just makes me SO very happy! All those beautiful colors. Everything just looks so vibrant and healthy and delicious. I just want to dive in with a fork and a spoon and get happy :) Gorgeous dish!

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    1. Thanks so much, Kim - and it makes me extremely happy that this dish makes you feel happy. Wish you were here to share it :-)

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  18. that looks amazing. I love salmon and the salad looks so refreshing. Donna Hay's food always looks so bright and natural.

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    1. Thanks. Yes, this was delightfully refreshing - and I agree with you, Donna Hay's food does always seem very natural and unfussed with.

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  19. i'm intrigued by the green tea soba noodles and am going to have to look for some of those.

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    1. Hi Heather - hope you can find some of the green tea soba noodles. I think they will be pretty readily available anywhere you can buy regular soba, which would be a perfectly acceptable substitute if you can't find the green tea ones.

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  20. As much as I love the cooler/colder temps, I do miss the fresh goodies from the market. What is there now is practically tasteless. I love salmon and will try this recipe.

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    1. Hi TeaLady - I agree with you - it's a bit hard to get excited about cooler weather produce once you've had your fill of pumpkin, isn't it :-)

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  21. It's probably non-ideal that this dish is making me crave spring when winter has barely even begun! So beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Joanne - I know how hard it is to be seduced by gorgeous spring dishes when it's the middle of winter - so unfair, isn't it?!

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  22. I was out of town until today, which is why I couldn't comment over the weekend.

    Oh I'm jealous that you're just starting spring! We had our first snow this morning! No light salads for me, time for soup.

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    1. Oh my goodness, Beth - snow already - that seems so early. I can understand that you wouldn't be wanting to face salads right now.

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  23. Oh wow, Sue, your photos are stunning and this is such a vibrant dish! I wish I could tuck into it myself right now. I'm loving the fall season here, but now you have me wishing for spring! Beautiful.

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    1. Thanks for your kind words, Hannah. You're right, fall (or autumn as we call it here) is a beautiful time of year, but I'm definitely a warmer weather girl - I love spring and summer, and especially warm weather food.

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  24. Sue, fabulous looking dish and I can see how well the flavours work together. Great work. Cheers

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    1. Thanks so much, Carole. It's such a beautifully flavourful, yet simple to prepare dish, that I've made it three times since posting this! That's something of a record around here.

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  25. I love this simple salmon dish. I just bought a filet at the store and this would be a perfect way to serve it. Thank you for sharing!

    Grace Crawford 7 Day Guided Montana Elk Hunts

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