Noodles
I love noodles and eat them often. The other day I came across this recipe that combined soba noodles with eggplant (aubergine) and mango in a salad. I couldn’t really imagine how the combination of eggplant and mango would taste but I was curious to try it, as the recipe came from Ottolenghi, who is innovative and pretty reliable.
In the end I chickened out as the only mango I had was the first one of the season, and I didn’t want to waste it on a recipe I wasn’t sure I’d like. So I ate the mango and enjoyed every juicy mouthful. But I mentioned the recipe to some friends and the sister of one of them — in England! — decided she wanted to try it. So she did and reported back that she liked it very much.
So yesterday I bought several mangoes — one for eating by itself, and one for this recipe — and I tried it. I have to report that my friend’s sister, and the many on the internet who’d written about this recipe were right — it’s delicious.
Cooking the little cubes of eggplant in a pan was fiddly so next time I’ll either bake then in the oven or fry them in large slices and then cut them up. (Edited to add: My friend’s sister wrote that she cubed the eggplant, added a bit of oil and cooked it in her air fryer. I have an air fryer but I’m not very used to using it yet.)
I forgot to buy the tofu, and wanted some protein in the salad, so I dry scrambled an egg and chopped it up, which worked pretty well. The different colored noodles in the pic above are because I used two different brands of soba noodles. Both were yummy. I use soba noodles all the time. They’re quick to cook, delicious, healthy and convenient, being packaged in single serving bundles so you never make too much or too little.
The sauce was the hero in this recipe, being sweet, sour, and a little bit spicy, and blending perfectly with all the ingredients. The fresh herbs are delicious too. The recipe makes quite a lot so I’ll be eating it for the next few days, but that’s all right. Anyway, don’t be afraid to try it — it’s delicious.
