cold things: two noodles to know

CASHEW SESAME NOODLES

INGREDIENTS

1. For sauce

   • 2 large garlic cloves, chopped

   • 3 tablespoons soy sauce

   • 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar

   • 1/4 cup Asian sesame oil

   • 3/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

   • 1 teaspoon sugar

   • 1/2 cup salted roasted cashews

   • 1/3 cup water

   1 pound thin spaghetti

   garnish: chopped salted roasted cashews and fresh coriander sprigs

PREPARATION

1. Make sauce:

   1. In a blender blend sauce ingredients with salt and pepper to taste until smooth. Sauce may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring sauce to room temperature and stir before using.

   2. Just before serving, in a 6-quart kettle bring 5 quarts salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti until al dente. In a colander drain spaghetti and rinse well under cold water. Drain spaghetti well and in a bowl toss with sauce and chopped coriander.

2. Garnish sesame noodles with cashews and coriander.

This is the most endlessness forgivable recipe, in heavy rotation since 1995. Potluck perfection.

Make it your own by adding shredded rotisserie chicken or perhaps some shrimp. Diced red peppers or shredded carrots could also be nice ~ YIELD Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish

from Alison Roman’s newsletter on Substack

SECRET INGREDIENT PASTA SALAD 

1 lb rigatoni ounces of pasta

Kosher salt,

freshly ground pepper

1⁄4 cup olive oil, plus more
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound any type of tomatoes (I like the smaller ones on the vine),

quartered1⁄2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (!), chopped, sliced, whatever
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1⁄2 red onion, sliced (not too thin)
Coarsely grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until just al dente; drain and drizzle with a little olive oil to prevent noodles from sticking.

2. Meanwhile, combine onion and vinegar in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper, let sit while everything else cooks.

3. Heat 1⁄4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, swirling the skillet occasionally until the garlic is tender and just starting to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add crushed red pepper and sun-dried tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Cook, tossing occasionally until the fresh tomatoes are just burst and juicy (you can use a spatula or wooden spoon to encourage them to break down if they started out especially firm), 5 to 8 minutes.

5. Add pasta and tomato mixture to the bowl with the onions. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and season again with salt, pepper and your spicy something if you like. Toss, toss, toss until every piece of pasta is evenly coated. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so and toss it again. Think of it as marinated pasta.

6. You can eat it immediately, but it’s truly better after a few hours, cold or at room temp. This is perfect “eat out of a container” food at the beach, on the grass, wherever. Top with lots of cheese before eating and drink with something cold and effervescent.

Serves 6 (or less if you’re into leftovers)