Herby, Peanutty, Noodly Salad from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

It's been another long week--warm and humid weather too. So I was craving something simple, fresh and cooling for dinner and I found it in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Herby, Peanutty, Herby Salad. I have been wanting to make this salad since my pal Kim made it the first week we cooked with Hugh at I Heart Cooking Clubs. 

Full of fresh herbs and veggies, with enough noodles (I used gluten-free brown rice noodles) and flavorful dressing to make it seem decadent, plus roasted peanuts for crunch, it was exactly what I was looking for.

Hugh says, "A bright and zingy dressing, handfuls of herbs and crunchy peanuts pack loads of flavour into simple, easy-to-cook noodles. If you can only find salted peanuts, rinse the salt off and pat them dry. When it comes to the fresh herbs, the mint’s pretty much a must; the other two are desirable but optional."

Herby, Peanutty Noodly Salad
From River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
(Serves 4)

Salad:
1/2 cup raw or roasted unsalted peanuts
7-8 oz egg noodles or Thai rice noodles (I used brown rice fettuccine noodles)
5 oz French beans, snow peas, or sugar snap peas, or a combination (I used all three)
1/2 cucumber
6 spring onions, trimmed
about 12 basil leaves (ideally Thai basil), roughly torn
small bunch of mint, roughly chopped
small bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)

Dressing:
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
grated zest and juice of 1 lime, or ½ lemon
1/2–1 small red chile, finely chopped (I used Sriracha instead)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp soy sauce, plus extra to serve

If using raw peanuts, roast on a tray in the oven (350 degrees F.) for 8–10 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool, then bash lightly to break them up a bit.

For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and rinse under the cold tap. Add to the dressing and toss until well coated. Leave to cool completely in the dressing.

Cook the beans and/or mangetout in a pan of lightly salted boiling water till just tender and still a bit crunchy, 3–5 minutes for beans, 2–3 minutes for mangetout. Drain, refresh in cold water and drain well.

Halve the cucumber lengthways and slice thinly. Finely cut the spring onions on the diagonal.

Toss the cooled noodles with the peanuts, cucumber, spring onions, beans and/or mangetout and herbs. Serve with soy sauce on the side, for everyone to help themselves.

Notes/Results: This salad with its bright flavors and my favorite herbs (cilantro, Thai basil and mint) made me very happy. It goes together quickly--especially if you are lazy like me and cook the green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas together in a large pot, lift them out with a strainer, and then use the same boiling water to cook the pasta. I also left my herbs mostly whole and used canned roasted peanuts. Rather than serve it with extra soy sauce, I liked it with extra lime. This was the perfect dinner for a humid night and I am looking forward to the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. I will happily make this salad again. 

Linking this salad up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is A Pinch of This, A Dash of That... Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipes featuring herbs and spices. You can see what everyone made by checking out the picture links on the post.

  
I am also linking this delicious salad up to Souper Sundays, hosted here at Kahakai Kitchen. Each Sunday we feature delicious soups, salads, and sandwiches from friends around the blogosphere--please join in if you have any to share. Here's this week's post and linkup.

 
Happy Aloha Friday!