Inspired by Becca's recent week of vegan I decided to have a go at a recipe of my own. Summer months are made for quick fresh and easy meals. Now I know it doesn't feel much like Summer here in the UK at the moment but trust me this one really is worth a try if you fancy something fresh and healthy of an evening but are short on time. This one takes around 10 minutes to prep, ok, maybe 15 but this is fast, fresh and completely doable midweek after a long day at work. It makes an awesome make ahead pack lunch too, make this on a Sunday eve and you've got lunch sorted for a couple of days .
It's designed to be versatile, feel free to swap ingredients in/out (Shake it all about) depending on what you have to hand in the fridge. Convenience is the aim of the game here, see some ideas for variations below. This recipe serves 2 as a light lunch or 1 as an evening meal - add an extra nest of vermicelli and an extra handful of sugar snap peas to bulk out to two servings.
You will need....
- 1 nest of vermicelli rice noodles
- 1 courgette - spiralized or coarse grated lengthways
- 2 spring onions
- a handful of sugar snap peas
- The zest and juice of 1 lime
- 2tsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- A thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
- 1 red chilli, diced with seeds removed
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Place the noodles into a large mixing bowl and cover with boiling water, leave to heat through for 5 minutes. While the noodles are cooking prepare the dressing - whisk together the lime, maple syrup, miso, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and chopped chilli. Finely dice the spring onions and chop the sugar snap peas into diamonds. Once the noodles are ready drain off the water and toss together with the courgette and the dressing. Divide between two bowls and sprinkle over the spring onions, sugar snaps and toasted sesame seeds.
Dinner is served.
Variations...
- Add a few finely sliced radish or a peeled and finely sliced bell pepper for extra crunch,
- Steamed aubergine makes an amazing addition, its also one of my favourite ways to prepare aubergine, ever. If you've not tried it before give this recipe a bash.
- If you don't have a lime to hand any citrus fruit will work well here.
- Nuts and seeds add crunch, texture and protein so toast and sprinkle liberally with whatever takes your fancy. For a pack lunch I recommend packing these separately then sprinkling over just before serving to maintain the crunch.
If you have any speedy recipes for fast fresh food we'd love to hear from you, give us a shout in the comments...
