cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango

ottolenghi soba noodle with eggplant and mango

cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango
red onion, basil, cilantro
garlic chile lime dressing, peanut and lime garnish

This is Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s dish. He says, “It is the refreshing nature of the cold buckwheat noodles, the sweet sharpness of the dressing and the muskiness of the mango that make it so pleasing.” Hard to argue with that.

I made a few minor changes, including grilling the eggplant instead of frying in sunflower oil. And I added peanuts. The photo of this dish in his book Plenty looks like a mess, a delicious mess. Initially I plated it in the Taste With The Eyes style, but it looked too fussy, so I dumped the whole lot onto another platter, to mess it up, just like Ottolenghi. Not only did I think the noodle dish was spectacular, but I learned a lesson in plating too. Sometimes disheveled is better.

cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango recipe

soba noodles with eggplant and mango

soba noodles

Cook soba noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Shake off excess water. Toss with toasted sesame oil and chill until ready to compose the dish.

how to grill eggplant

grilled eggplant

Rub sliced eggplant with kosher salt and let sweat on paper towels for an hour, turning once, to remove much of the moisture. Then rinse off the salt, pat dry, and brush with olive oil. Grill over medium high heat. Make sure to slice the eggplant in generous portions so it doesn’t shrivel up on the grill.

garlic chile lime dressing
garlic chile lime dressing

  • 1/2 c. rice vinegar
  • 3 T. sugar
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 jalapeño (or red chile), finely chopped
  • 1 t. toasted sesame oil
  • grated zest and juice from 1 lime

In a small saucepan, warm vinegar, sugar, and salt. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat, add garlic, chile, sesame oil. Allow to cool then add lime zest and juice.

soba noodles with eggplant and mango
Toss the noodles with the dressing, diced eggplant, sliced mango, thin-sliced red onion, chiffonade of basil, and rough chopped cilantro.

soba noodles with eggplant and mangoDump the noodle mixture onto a platter.

cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango

Garnish with more basil and cilantro. Finish with chopped peanuts and some lime wedges.

 soba noodles with eggplant and mango

celebrating eggplant

celebrating chef ottolenghi

celebrating chef ottolenghi

links to my other recipes inspired by ottolenghi

 

Peas & Pasta ~ pea sprouts, basil, feta, garlicky yogurt sauce, smoky chile walnuts

Roasted Japanese Eggplant ~ fresh thyme, garlicky yogurt cream sauce, pomegranate & pistachio

Elegant Braised Leeks ~ feta, almond, raisin, mint

Spiced Roasted Cauliflower ~ walnut, cilantro, mint, kaffir lime, pink peppercorn

Rigatoni, Roasted Oyster Mushrooms ~ arugula, smoky chile walnuts, garlicky yogurt, feta

Thyme & Mint Roasted Eggplant ~ arugula, spinach, tomato, garlicky yogurt sauce

Griddled Chicken Breast, Saffron Tangelo Syrup ~ fennel , cilantro, basil, mint with lime vinaigrette

 

 summerfest

Summer Fest is a season long franchise where Food Network editors team up with bloggers to share recipes about everyone’s favorite summertime fruits and vegetables. Be sure to check out the Pinterest Board with over 90,000 followers called Let’s Pull Up A Chair! And if this cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango got you longing for some lovely summer eggplant, you might enjoy taking a peek at other aubergine dishes from some fabulous bloggers below…

food network summer fest

 

Feed Me Phoebe: Grilled Eggplant with Sumac, Capers and Mint
Jeanette’s Healthy Living: Eggplant Pepper Mushroom Turkey Sausage Hash
Chez Us: Baba Ghanoush
Taste With The Eyes: Cold Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Eggplant Fritter Burgers with Sriracha Chili Mayo
Red or Green: Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta with Spicy Carrot Top/Basil Pesto
Weelicious: Eggplant Parmesan Sticks
Devour: 5 Takes on Grilled Eggplant
The Sensitive Epicure: Szechwan Eggplant
Domesticate Me: Grilled Eggplant with Fresh Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Basil Vinaigrette
And Love It Too: Roasted Garlic Baba Ganouj
FN Dish: Eggplant, No Forks Necessary

18 thoughts on “cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango”

  1. Even if one did not like the ingredients this dish would be impossible to pass because of the brilliant photography! Well, I happen to like the ingredients 🙂 !!!

  2. I thought this recipe looked familiar, we really like Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes. This is perfect for lunch or a light dinner. Great flavors!

    1. Hi Denise – Yeah, we love Ottolenghi! His vegetable combinations are brilliant! Thanks for your comment and tweet!
      Are you posting avocado tomorrow??
      LL

  3. Lori Lynn you always have the most beautiful photographs, but I think you outdid yourself with these. They are breathtaking! I wish I have a mango and some soba noodles, because I was planning on grilling eggplant tonight. However, that dressing looks like a perfect dressing for the salad I had in mind. Great recipe and post!

  4. Hi Lori,

    I made this on Sunday night and it was superb. Mangoes are just coming into season here in Australia so the one I used had a lovely tart/sweet flavour that worked beautifully with the other flavours. The family gave it a 2thumbsup rating (even the fussy teenage boy) so I posted a link to your recipe on my micro blog and my healthy eating followers have also raved about it so thank you and please keep them coming as my family & I LOVE your recipes.

    Have a great weekend,

    Anna

  5. Made this tonight and it was delicious! Would make a perfect meal with spring rolls and maybe a light soup. Definitely going to make again.

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