Ironically, all of the recipes I’ve shared to date are things I make on special occasions or maybe once in a few weeks. What I really cook everyday is dinner. Lots and lots of dinner. Dinner that then morphs into lunch or part of a dinner the next night. I love cooking dinner.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got a sweet tooth and I could demolish a charcuterie plate in minutes, but dinner is something more. Dinner is what welcomes me home from the craziness of the day, dinner is what N and I make together as we talk about our days. Dinner is unwinding, love, and most importantly, pretty damn tasty.
Recently I saw Dana Treat’s post featuring a soba and kale salad. I love soba. I could eat it warm, cold, in soups, by itself. But I usually pair it with Asian flavors or vegetables. Dana’s combination of a non-Asian ingredient with soba inspired me to try something like it.
In the past two weeks, I’ve made soba bowls with less eastern vegetables and loved it. My favorite was a fresh pea and shrimp bowl with miso dressing. I wanted to make it for you this week, but shrimp wasn’t on sale. small eats also has a small budget, so adapt we must! The other soba bowl I made recently had kale and tofu in it, so I combined the peas with the kale and tofu and poof! This dish was born.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh shelled peas, or thawed frozen peas
- 1 bunch of lacinto kale
- 2 bunches of soba
- 1 block of extra firm tofu, drained and cubed
- 2 tbsp Sambal Oelek
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp honey
- 1/2 lime
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp miso
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375.
In a bowl, combine sambal oelek, soy sauce, honey, lime and sesame oil in a small bowl. If you'd like it more spicy, add another tablespoon of sambal oelek. Arrange drained and cubed tofu on baking sheet with a layer of aluminum foil on it. Spoon sambal oelek mixture on top of cubed tofu and bake for 20 minutes.
Wash and derib lacinto kale. Chop into bite size pieces. In a sauce pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Add the kale and wilt for 6-10 minutes. Lacinto doesn't wilt as much as curly kale, but it will turn a brighter green when it's wilted. Set kale aside.
Boil salted water in a medium pot and add two bunches of soba. If your soba doesn't come in bundles, add two handfuls about the size of quarters. Break the noodles in half if you prefer. Let cook for 4 and a half minutes. When done, strain and place in a large bowl.
In that large bowl, add the kale and fresh peas. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing. Miso will take a little work to dissolve, so keep stirring until the miso is fully dissolved. Once dissolved, add the dressing to the kale, fresh peas, and soba. Stir to combine.
Plate the kale, fresh peas, and soba mixture and top with the spicy baked tofu.