After a busy and hot week, I don’t feel like cooking a big meat-heavy entree. Enter soba bowls. Salad and entree all in one! It doesn’t get much more streamlined than this and it’s perfect for these end-of-school, crazy summer schedule Shabbats.
What is soba? Soba is a Japanese buckwheat noodle. You can find them made from 100 percent buckwheat or a combination of wheat and buckwheat. They cook quickly and you need to rinse them in cold water straight away or they get sticky in an unpleasant way. If soba isn’t to your taste, you can easily substitute with whole wheat pasta, brown rice, or any favorite whole grain. You could do white rice but I think it would not have the nutty element that the dish needs.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m big on customizable meals. It’s a great way to get people to try something they otherwise might not be interested in. As written, this dish is vegan but add tofu, chicken, or cheese depending on the dietary needs of your crew. Now let’s talk vegetables. I used what I had on hand: avocado, radishes, cucumber, tomato, pepper, and green onion. Cut the vegetables so that they’re small enough to be one bite and consider cooking anything very crunchy, like carrots. I love to top soba bowls with tahini sauce but you could skip the sauce or use salsa, chimichurri, etc.
Tahini Sauce
- 4 tablespoons good tahini (make sure there are no ingredients besides sesame seeds)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water (add more by the teaspoon if you want a thinner sauce)
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
In a bowl big enough to whisk in, combine tahini with half of the lemon juice. Whisk. When the lemon juice is incorporated, add the rest and whisk again. Add salt, pepper, and water, whisk until smooth.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Peel up to 2 pounds of sweet potatoes and dice to 1/2 inch squares. Toss with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil In a 9 x 13 glass pan, roast at 400F for approximately 45 minutes.
Finished product, in bowl. Delicious.
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