Soba Noodle Salad with Miso-Tahini Dressing

My little town of Guerneville has only a few options for dining out.  I work at one of them.  Another serves classic California-French-FarmToTable cuisine, and does it quite well.  We have a disappointing sushi/burger joint (all at once, really!) and a taco truck that the locals think is just the best Mexican food EVER.  My Southern Californian boyfriend wholeheartedly disagrees.

We were saved a few months ago when Hi Five opened.  Renting out evening space in Pat's Diner, Hi Five serves Korean-American fusion with flare, whimsy and talent.  The chef dreams up amazing creations and executes them well.  We go, sit at the bar with our Alsacian Riesling and nosh on noodles and tofu and banh mi style hot dogs.  My favorite dish is their soba and kale salad with pickled mushrooms and a sesame dressing.  Salty and savory and surprisingly light, I crave this dish.  A lot.  And when I have a hankering for something, I try to figure out how to make it myself.  Often this leads to fails (I cannot seem to keep my sourdough starter alive and my persimmon sorbet was a gluey and strangely icky mess, sigh), but in this case I found the dish improved!  Or at least a little different, and certainly just as delicious.

I came across this recipe in Deb Perelman's new cookbook and knew that it was the answer to satisfying my longing for a big bowl of Asian noodles.  Her recipe is for a salad, but I bulked it up with soba and tofu and thinned out the dressing a tad, which is one of the tastiest of creations.  The combination of miso and tahini is brilliant and has an amazingly creamy depth of flavor.  Cabbage and radishes add crunch, and the sugar snap peas balance out the savory with their natural sweetness.  This would make an excellent summer lunch, to be eaten in the sun on our sprawling deck with a glass of chilled wine.

Surprisingly, I didn't think too much about what wine we'd enjoy with this meal and completely lucked out with the one white we had in our fridge.  Tablas Creek's 2011 Patelin de Tablas Blanc is one of my favorite Californian expressions of a white Rhone blend.  Here we find the usuals: Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Viognier, and Marsanne.  And like any good white Rhone blend, the Patelin is friendly, comforting, and always willing to listen to you bitch about your crappy day.  She's there for you, reliable.  Grenache Blanc brings a happy richness and Viognier provides bright tropical and floral aromatics.  Honeysuckle, apricot, and creamy peach.  We were delighted with how nicely it tasted with our soba salad - the richness of the tahini and saltiness of the miso were perfect contrasts to the wine's stone fruit and lemon zest.

SOBA NOODLE SALAD
with miso-tahini dressing
adapted from The Smitten Kitchen

Serves 3 - 4 

For Salad: 
1/2 medium Napa cabbage, cut into thin ribbons
1/2 lb sugar snap peas
3 - 4 radishes, thinly sliced
3 large scallions, thinly sliced on bias
3 tbsp black and white sesame seeds, well toasted

2 bundles soba noodles
14 oz extra firm tofu

For Dressing: 
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 - 3 tbsp mild yellow or white miso
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp olive oil

Cut your tofu into 1 inch cubes.  Place on a paper towel lined plate, cover with more paper towels and another plate.  Weigh it down with a heavy object (I used my cast iron skillet) for 30 minutes to drain tofu.  

Make the dressing.  Using a small blender or an immersion blender, whirl all ingredients until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasoning - using more miso if necessary.  It should be a little too salty, don't try to compensate by adding more honey.  The sugar snap peas will bring enough sweetness to balance everything just right.  

When your tofu is drained, coat it with a few tablespoons of the tahini dressing to marinate.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a small ice-water bath.  Blanch sugar snap peas for 2 minutes, until bright green and slightly cooked.  They should still be quite crunchy.  Scoop them out with a large slotted spoon and drop them in the ice-water bath.  Once they're cool, drain and pat them dry.  Trim ends and toss in a large bowl with radishes, scallions, cabbage and 1 tbsp sesame seeds. 

Bring the water back to a boil and cook your soba noodles for 4 - 6 minutes, until al dente.  Drain and add to salad bowl.  Toss with a few tablespoons of dressing, adding more as needed. 

In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of safflower, sunflower, or vegetable oil on medium-low heat.  Arrange your tofu in one layer in the skillet, cooking on each side for 2 - 3 minutes, or until just browned and slightly crispy.  Remove from skillet. 

Serve soba salad into bowls, top with tofu and remaining sesame seeds.  Drizzle a little dressing over the top if desired.