Soba Noodles with Aubergine & Mango

Hello! And happy new years to those of you who celebrated it!

I hope you had a good one and that 2016 has treated you well so far. I on my part have had a bit of a turbulent start, but I know that it will have a whole lot of good things in stock as well! I have managed to fit in attending a gig (Ben Caplan & the Casual Smokers - they are magic! and a little crazy), as well as having gone to the first Loud Poets Slam in Glasgow! They are a spoken word group from Edinburgh, and I got to catch up with a friend I had not seen in two years!

If anything, I will keep nourishing my sociable side, I find it quite important so as to not forget who you are, as it can get a little hectic and tiresome when you work full time.

New years resolution - go to more gigs! (along with more local travelling, walks in the mountains, saving money, and getting back on track with exercising, the cold I had, and still kind of have is still lingering, and I really took a blow when it hit me!)

Anywhoooo, enough about me, let's talk food! I rattled this up tonight after I had been to work and the gym! I was snacking on other things in the mean time, cause I get borderline hangry when food is not ready and I have been running.... Y'know the feeling, I'm sure.

This lovely little noodle salad is freshly garnished with exotic mango, and you know what? It goes darn well with the rest of the ingredients!

This recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi's "Plenty", which my cousin gave me for christmas last year. I have only started diving into it, and so far all the recipes are fantastic!

Soba Noodles with Aubergine & Mango
(Serves 2)

For the sauce:
6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar or agave syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced or finely chopped
1/3 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime

2 tbsp oil
1 large aubergine, diced
Large white or green beans (optional, I had some that needed used up!)

120g uncooked soba noodles (I used capellini, as that what was lived in my cupboard)

Garnish:
Mango, diced or sliced
Red onion, finely chopped
Fresh basil and coriander leaves, chopped

- Start by making the sauce in a small bowl, still well to combine and set aside.

- Heat oil in a large casserole and chuck the diced aubergine in along with a shuggle of salt. Stir every few minutes, for about 10-15 minutes until the aubergine is golden and soft. Stir through the beans if you're using them, and heat up. Turn off the heat and set aside.

- Whilst the aubergine is doing it's thing, simply cook soba noodles or whatever you are using for your base as instructed. If you are serving the salad warm, simply drain, and add in with the aubergine immediately, swirling through the sauce and topping with garnish. If not, allow for the noodles and aubergine to cool before combining, then pour over the sauce and garnish when you serve it.

I served this warm the first time, and it worked a treat! Tomorrow I will enjoy it as a cold noodle salad, makes no difference at all! One of the things I love about this recipe!


Original source:
Plenty, p. 112

- Jules