Soba Noodles with Wakame

I ended up with way too much wakame in this dish. But on the whole it was really tasty, crunchy dish and the noodles were lovely, I'd forgotten how good cold soba noodles are!

Soba Noodles with Wakame (from Plenty - Ottolenghi)

(Serves 4-6)

2 large cucumbers

2 tsp salt

300g soba noodles

60g wakame

70g toasted sesame seeds

30g coriander leaves, roughly chopped

50g mint leaves, roughly chopped

Sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

grated zest 2 limes

60ml lime juice

1 tbsp grated root ginger

2 red chillies, finely chopped

1 tbsp palm sugar

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp groundnut oil

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

3/4 tsp salt

Shred the cucumbers using a mandolins or veg peeler. Place the cucumber into a colander, sprinkle with the salt and stir well, then leave to drain for at least 30 mins.

Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the noodles and cook for 4-5 mins, or according to packet instructions. Drain and rinse in a stream of cold water to stop the cooking, leave to dry.

Soak the wakame in warm water for about 10 mins or until softened, drain. Remove the tough stalks and discard. Cut or year the rest into large pieces and put into a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked noodles and cucumber to the wakame.

Whisk together the sauce ingredients and add to the noodle mixture. Stir gently, then add the sesame seeds, coriander and mint. Stir well again and taste, you may want to add more salt, sugar or vinegar.

Pile the noodles into serving bowls and serve.