Alice's broad bean, asparagus and soba noodle salad

Ingredients

• 500 g broad beans (see Notes), podded
• 1 head broccoli, chopped into small florets, stalk peeled and chopped into 8 mm discs
• 1 bunch asparagus (see Notes), cut into 2 cm lengths
• 270 g buckwheat soba noodles
• 100 g baby English spinach leaves, washed and dried

Miso dressing

• 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp tahini or smooth peanut butter
• 1 tbsp honey or brown sugar
• 1 tbsp rice seasoning (shichimi togarashi or furikake)
• 2 tsp miso paste
• ½ tsp wasabi paste
• salt and black pepper
• 1 cm x 3 cm piece ginger, finely grated
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely grated

To serve

• 1 avocado, cubed
• ¼ medium bunch coriander, roughly chopped
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• rice seasoning (optional)
• rice crisps (optional)

Instructions

1. Bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to the boil. Add the broad beans and blanch for 2-4 minutes, or until bright green and soft. Scoop them out and refresh under a cold tap until cool. Double-pod the broad beans into a bowl by splitting the skin with your fingernail and popping out the bright green flesh.
2. Bring the water back to the boil and blanch the broccoli for 3–4 minutes, or until vibrant green. Scoop out, refresh under a cold water, add to the broad beans and set aside. Bring the water back to the boil and blanch the asparagus for 2–3 minutes, or until bright green. Scoop out and set this aside with the broccoli.
3. Bring the blanching water to the boil again. Add the buckwheat noodles, wait until they soften enough to submerge, then cook for 1 minute less than suggested by the packet instructions. Drain the noodles and refresh in iced water to stop the cooking process.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the miso dressing ingredients. Add the noodles to the dressing and stir to coat. These can be further refrigerated at this stage if you prefer chilled noodles.
5. When ready to serve, add the blanched vegetables and baby spinach leaves to the noodles, tossing to coat and season to taste, if required.
6. Scatter the avocado, coriander, and spring onion on top and sprinkle with extra rice seasoning. Serve with the rice crisps on the side, if using.

Notes

• Broad beans can be substituted with green beans (blanch for 4-5 minutes). Asparagus can be substituted with broccolini cut into 2 cm lengths (blench 2-3 minutes).

• To make the crisps, heat 1 litre oil to 200°C in a medium saucepan. Cut 6 rice paper rounds into 8 equal wedges. Briefly deep fry in batches of 5-6. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with rice seasoning. They can also be microwaved on a plate for 1-1.5 minutes until crisp.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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