Happy Shining Noodles

This dish is a strange, yet delightful convergence of cultures. Which is OK with me, because that's also my life. I used Italian spaghetti to create an Indian flavored noodle salad, very loosely based on a Vietnamese noodle salad I used to eat at least thrice weekly when I was in college and had access to about a half dozen good, cheap Vietnamese cafes within walking distance. The Vietnamese version used rice noodles, and the sauce was vinegary and sweet, with savory umami that probably came from fish sauce. The Indian version's tartness comes from lemon, the sweetness from cashews, and the umami comes from the nutty flavor of popped mustard seeds. Turmeric turns the noodles sunshine yellow, which contrasts prettily with the green and red of the vegetables.

I was inspired to create this dish because I had a couple handfuls of garden lettuce, which weren't enough to create a stand alone green salad, but were enough to plentifully grace a noodle salad. Indeed, it's the inclusion of lettuce that ties this dish to the original Vietnamese version. When I first tried it back in the day, I was slightly weirded out by the inclusion of lettuce in a noodle dish. (I was pretty naive about a lot of stuff back then.) But after I tried it, I realized what a great idea it was. The lettuce provided a crisp, refreshing counterpart to the soft, filling carb-ness of the noodles.

 My kids like anything pasta related, and definitely were fans of the naturally sweet lemon cashew sauce. I kept the vegetables separate, and let them choose what they wished. They didn't choose lettuce, but went crazy for the roasted red pepper. At least, the older one did.

Sunshine Yellow Lemon Cashew Noodle Salad

While preparing the other salad components, cook a pound of spaghetti according to the package directions. Drain, reserving a bit of the cooking water, and set aside.

Mustard Seed Oil
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
1 Thai green chili, cut in half lengthwise (optional)

In a small saucepan, heat the mustard seeds and green chili in the oil until the mustard seeds turn grey, sputter, and pop. Pour this mustard seed oil mixture onto the pasta, and toss to combine, adding a little pasta cooking water to help, if need be.

Lemon Cashew Sauce
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 cup water
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste

Add the raw cashews, garlic, water, and lemon juice to a blender and blend until a smooth sauce forms. Pour sauce into a bowl and mix turmeric and salt to taste.

Other Salad Components
A few handfuls of very fresh lettuce, roughly chopped
3 roasted red peppers, chopped into one inch pieces
chopped roasted cashews
chopped cilantro or parsley
whatever else you have handy that you think would be good
lemon wedges (to be served with each portion)


Toss the noodles with the cashew sauce. Serve the other salad components separately, letting each individual create his/her own salad. Use a lemon wedge to add an additional spritz of lemon juice before eating. This salad goes well with beer.