Noodles with Thai Peanut Sauce

Trying to eat seasonally, lately I find myself in a bit of a winter vegetable rut. I still have a long way to go before I consider myself a true locavore, but I have been eating a lot of winter squash, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, kale and other vegetables available in my area's winter. And although I consider all of those veggies absolutely delicious, my palate is ready for some new flavors.

Lucky for me, spring is here, bringing the very first new vegetables of the growing season. I recently picked up some wonderful local snow peas and decided to create a Thai-inspired noodle dish. Because the snow peas have such a delicate flavor, I decided not to cook most of this dish too heavily.

This dish makes a large quantity of noodles and sadly doesn't keep all too well past 2-3 days in the fridge, so I recommend serving it immediately to a big group of people. If you do decide to keep it for a few days, don't heat it up in the microwave. Simply allow it to come to room temperature and eat. Re-heating the dish overcooks the vegetables and makes the sauce taste a little funky. Or alternatively, you could simply boil up a small portion of noodles and drizzle them with the peanut sauce. The rest of the peanut sauce will store in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for at least 6 months.

And for the love of all that is holy, I beg you to use natural peanut butter. Any smooth brand is fine, but please don't use the highly processed, sugar laden and preservatives-added type of peanut butter. Not only does it add unnecessary fat, additives and a strange texture to your sauce, the extra sugar will really throw off the flavor.


Bain taitneamh as do bheil!


PREP TIME: about 35 minutes
COOKING TIME: about 10 minutes
SERVES: 10-15 people


INGREDIENTS:
Thai peanut sauce:
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 cup smooth natural peanut butter
1 15 oz can light coconut milk
1/4 cup tamari (regular soy sauce will work in a pinch)
the juice and zest of 2 limes
1 tablespoons sriracha sauce

For the noodles and vegetables:
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti noodles
1 large head broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
3-4 cups snow peas, ends and strings removed
1 large cucumber, chopped into bite-sized pieces
sesame oil, for cooking


1/2 cup roasted & salted peanuts, roughly chopped.

DIRECTIONS:
Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions, or until al dente. Drain, toss with a little sesame oil to keep from sticking and set aside.

Bring a large saucepan full of water to a boil. Add chopped broccoli and cook for a few minutes, or just until broccoli turns a bright green. Drain immediately and set aside.

Prepare the peanut sauce: saute 3 cloves minced garlic in 2 tablespoons sesame oil until just browned, taking care not to burn. (Keep your eye on this pot-- garlic burns so easily!)

In a large bowl, combine sauteed garlic, peanut butter, coconut milk, tamari, the zest & juice of 2 limes and sriracha sauce. Whisk to combine. Adjust for your personal taste. Too bland? Try adding a bit more sriracha to spice things up. Too muddy? More lime juice will make a more zippy sauce. Needs salt? Add more tamari!

Drizzle the sauce over noodles, cooked broccoli, snow peas and cucumber and gently stir to combine.

Garnish with chopped peanuts and get ready to practice your chopstick skills!