This was one of the very first 101 Cookbooks recipes I tried back before I was a food blogger myself. I've made it many a time during some scary bare bones moments, but I also like to make it when I'm looking to have a flavorful, nutritious dinner that takes about 2.5 seconds to make. Like many of you, I'm a very busy bee, so it's nice to have simple recipes to fall back on when you are too pressed for time to make anything too elaborate. This dish is part of that repertoire.
That's the core of PGEW, and I take great pride in making simplest ingredients into something sexy, a lot of times it's because that's all I have to eat. It's nice to see that even a pro like Heidi, who has access to some of the finer ingredients in life, will take the super-simple approach from time to time and make something like this noodle dish.
Did I happen to mention how ridiculously affordable it is? It comes out to just around $1 per serving, an absolutely incredible deal for such a hearty meal (hey, that rhymed...). Almost makes it taste even better than it already does. :)
Garlic-Parmesan Soba Noodles (makes 4-6 servings; total cost per serving: $1)
Adapted from Heidi Swanson's Garlic Soba Noodles recipe
Ingredients:
1 8 oz. package dried soba noodles
8 oz. extra-firm tofu, sliced into 1" x 1" strips
2 T olive oil, divided
1 large bunch of spinach (chard or kale will also work), coarsely chopped
1/2 c chopped scallions
1 t + 1/2 t granulated garlic
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 c grated Parmesan
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Cook the soba noodles according to package instructions. Drain well, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and set aside.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil.
3. Add the tofu strips and stir fry quickly, sprinkling 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic and a generous pinch of parmesan about midway through the cooking process.
4. Remove from heat & set aside (blot with paper towel if needed)
5. In the same skillet add the remaining olive oil and the chopped fresh garlic. Cook until garlic just begins to brown and turn fragrant.
6. Add the spinach and cook for 30 seconds to a minute, until it just begins to wilt.
7. Add the soba noodles, granulated garlic, parmesan and scallions and toss together until combined. Remove from heat.
8. Place a generous amount of noodles on each plate or bowl, top with a few tofu strips, sprinkle with extra parmesan and some ground black pepper, and enjoy!
This sounds like the perfect dinner for when my man is out. I haven't quite gotten him into tofu eating yet. I love soba noodles - add parmesan and garlic and it must be amazing! I guess you could use regular spaghetti if you didn't have soba?
ReplyDeleteThis looks fabulous and healthy, I do like pasta and most of time I look for organic or healthy ingredients. nice post =)
ReplyDeleteI adore Heidi's cooking as well. Her work is incredibly approachable and simple.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great website! It's nice to see someone else make her foods :)
ReplyDeleteyour blog and 101cookbooks are the only cooking sites on my favorites list! :-)
ReplyDeleteI decided to try this recipe because the picture looked so scrumptious. My dad hates tofu (or so he thought) and gave me grief when he saw the container on the counter. I made the dish for 3 people and as it turns out, I should have doubled it! Not a single ounce was leftover! I can't wait to make it again.
ReplyDelete