Green Goddess Noodle Salad

My girls love anything noodles and here is a great way for them to get some greens in while they are twirling with chopsticks. A lovely summer textured salad with crunchy cooked broccoli, cucumber and celery mixed with some gorgeous herbs and greens.

The asian inspired dressing is a good ‘go to’ dressing for salads or noodles so double up as it will keep well in the fridge for a week.

You can totally freestyle what goes into the salad – see below for additions.

Getting ahead: All the components of the salad can be made in advance but only combine once ready to serve. You can, however dress the noodles with the dressing in advance.

Leftovers: The salad will keep well in the fridge for a day or two and is perfect for lunchboxes.

Serves 4 generously

To make this small CHILD FRIENDLY – you can add some cooked spinach & peas instead of raw leafy greens.

You can use any noodles you have, I prefer gluten-free noodles and find buckwheat the least ‘sticky’ to cook with.

You can use any raw veggie leaves: kale, chard or other asian greens could work, just shred finely. You can also add cooked greens if you are not great with raw veggies.

You can use any soft herbs: basil, coriander, mint, chives, lemon verbena will all work well.

You can use any salad leaves: I find the smaller leaf varieties like watercress or rocket will work best.

You can use any toasted nuts or seeds for a crunchy topping .

The addition of avo would work wonders.

If you are carb conscience you can leave them out, and add some avo and some hard boiled eggs drizzled with soy sauce. The addition of hot smoked mackerel would work too if you are having fish.

A bowl with iced water

Colander

• 1 packet buckwheat noodles – you can decide how ‘noodle’y’ you want your salad
• 200g broccolini or broccoli florets
• 4 fine spring onions, white & green parts finely diced
• 2 stalks, celery, finely & thinly sliced (fennel will be nice too)
• 1/2 cucumber, halved, seeds removed and cut into half moons
• 2  handfuls fresh veggie greens, finely shredded, I used baby spinach & pak choi
• 1 handful salad leaves, I used watercress, leaves picked from really thick stalks
• 1 tablespoons each sesame (I used black) & sunflower seeds, toasted (opt)
• small handful chopped soft herbs, I used, chives, mint and lemon verbena
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

(bowl with iced water (opt) see below)

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 teaspoons gluten-free teriyaki sauce  (or soy)
• zest of two small limes
• juice of 1 small lime (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon ginger, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon garlic, finely grated
• 1/4 teaspoon maple syrup (opt)
• 1 tablespoon cold water

1. Bring a large saucepan with salted water to a simmer. The pot needs to be big enough to cook your broccoli and noodles in.
2. First, add the broccoli and cook until no longer raw but still have a bite (3/4 minutes), remove and place in the cold iced water (see note) drain. If using broccolini, cut the long stalks into bite sizes.
3. Bring your water back up to a simmer, add the noodles, swirl and simmer for 5minutes making sure the noodles don’t tangle up together. Taste and if ready drain in a colander, immediately run some cold water over the noodles. It helps to use your hands to make sure the noodles are cooled down and not entangled, drain well. Drizzle with the 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Set aside
4. Add all your dressing ingredients and taste for seasoning, we are looking for a nice balance between, salty, sweet and tangy.
5. I like to mix my noodle salad in a separate large bowl first before adding to a serving bowl. We are not going to add everything all at once but rather: to the noodles start by adding all the broccoli, then half the veggie leaves and the salad leaves, mix well. Add 1/2 the dressing, coat well and taste. Now add the rest of the leaves and the dressing if you need to. Taste and season.
6. Transfer your salad to a pretty serving plate, sprinkle with the finely chopped herbs, mix and finely sprinkle the toasted seeds.

Ice water: This process is called ‘blanche & refresh’ – briefly cooking soft veggies and then submerging them into ice water. This method helps to stop the cooking process, retain nutrients and keep the vibrant colour. You can skip this and just run the broccoli under cold tap water.