Soba Noodles with Mango & Eggplant
This is (so far) one of my favourite Ottolenghi dishes. I have to try many more recipes from his book ‘Plenty‘ (Dutch version) – a fantastic b-day present from Lelle & Len-, but I keep making this one! No wonder. Everybody loves it. Same thing at my housewarming yesterday. Well guys, here is the recipe!
More Ottolenghi recipes on the blog soon.
Soba Noodles with Mango & Eggplant
May 2, 2014
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Ingredients
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- ½ fresh red chile, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Grated zest and juice of small 1 lime
- 1 cup sunflower oil
- 2 eggplants, cut into ¾-inch dice
- 9 ounces (soba) noodles
- 1 large ripe mango, cut into 3/8-inch dice or into ¼-inch-thick strips
- 1 cup basil leaves (if you can get some Thai basil, but much less of it)
- 2½ cups cilantro leaves, chopped
- ½ red onion, very thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a small saucepan gently warm the vinegar, sugar and salt for up to 1 minute, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, chile, and sesame oil. Allow to cool, then add the lime zest and juice.
- Heat up the sunflower oil in a large pan and shallow-fry the eggplant in three or four batches. Once golden brown remove to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave there to drain.
- Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally. They should take 5 to 8 minutes to become tender but still al dente. Drain and rinse well under running cold water. Shake off as much of the excess water as possible, then leave to dry on a dish towel.
- In a mixing bowl toss the noodles with the dressing, mango, eggplant, half of the herbs and the onion. You can now leave this aside for 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve add the rest of the herbs and mix well, then pile on a plate or in a bowl.
Source: Yotam Ottolenghi
