Soba Noodles with Broccoli and Peanut Sauce

I know I've been awfully quiet on the blog lately, but it seems that the Festive Season is catching up with me! I've been so busy I haven't had the time to cook anything new! Anyway, today I am sick in bed so thought I'd catch up with a little recipe or two.

I made this delicious soba noodle dish over the weekend. Soba noodes are made from buckwheat flour and have many great health benefits. They are naturally gluten free, low GI, low in fat and cholesterol and fairly high in protein compared to other grains.

 I buy my soba noodles at the local Chinese supermarket, but I have also seen them at Pick 'n Pay. If you are following a gluten free diet, be sure to check that they are 100% buckwheat, as some do contain wheat.

Ingredients:

2 blocks soft tofu, cut into bite size pieces (squares about 1cm thick)
1/2 pack soba noodles
1 medium head broccoli, cleaned and cut into florets
1 tbs coconut oil
1 large spring onion, white part thinly sliced - set green part aside for garnish
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 handful peanuts
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
1/4 cup mirin
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp corn flour
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs crunchy peanut butter
1/8 cup boiling water
5-6 radishes
pinch salt

Bring a medium pot of water to boil and add your noodles and a pinch of salt. Boil for 5-6 minutes. If you have a bamboo steamer, use it to cook the broccoli atop the pot of water. Otherwise, put the broccoli in the boiling water 2 minutes before the noodles are done and then drain the whole lot through a colander and rinse with cold water.

In a large saucepan on medium to high heat, fry the tofu pieces in coconut oil until they are crispy. Turn the tofu and repeat on the other side. Once the tofu is done, add the sliced garlic, spring onion and chilli and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat.

For the sauce, use a fork to dissolve the peanut butter into the boiling water. Add the soy sauce/tamari, mirin, corn flour, sugar and sesame oil and stir.

Return the saucepan with the tofu to the heat, add the noodles, broccoli and the sauce and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and coated all the ingredients.

Serve with thinly sliced radish, chopped spring onion greens and a sprinkling of peanuts.

Makes about 4 servings. Enjoy!

Mushroom, Kale and Bacon Quiche (without the bacon!)

I feel like a LOT of my cooking involves tofu lately, but I am really enjoying learning about its amazing versatility every day. Tonight I made a divine quiche that even the man of the house didn't turn his nose up at. Of course there is no bacon in the quiche, but some lovely roasty mushrooms, sauteed kale and a touch of liquid smoke.

I didn't do a crust for this quiche because I really just wanted to make a quick dinner, but if you have some time, there are plenty good vegan crust recipes out there. One I read about earlier involved grated potato to create a 'rosti' type crust - sounds yummm!

Also note, my pie dish is quite large, so this is a large recipe. You could always downsize it to fit a smaller dish. 

Ingredients:

6 blocks tofu (150g each)

2 tbs B-Well vegan mayo (available at Pick 'n Pay)

2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 cup soy milk

1 heaped tbs cornflour

1 x 400g punnet chopped mushrooms

4-6 large kale leaves, finely shredded

1/2 purple onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 green pepper, diced

2 tbs olive oil

Himalayan salt

Turn your grill on to 250 degrees Celcius. Toss the mushrooms in 1 tbs olive oil and grill until slightly crisp. I usually drain the liquid from the oven tray halfway through the process. 

Meanwhile, in a pan, sautee the onions, green pepper and garlic in a tbs of olive oil. When soft, add the kale, chilli and coriander powder and stir fry until the kale is wilted. Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt. Remove from heat and turn the oven to 180 degrees, with both top and bottom elements on. 

Place all 6 blocks of tofu in a large mixing bowl and smoosh them up with your hands, as if kneading bread dough. Add the soy milk, turmeric, corn flour, liquid smoke, 1/2 tsp salt and mayo and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Stir the vegetables into the tofu mixture. Place it all in a non-stick pie dish and bake for approximately 30-40 minutes. The top and edges will be golden brown when its ready. 

Serve with a fresh salad and tomato sauce xxx