Soba and Spinach Salad

I would like to call your attention to that cute little tree in the column on the right side of the page. The one that says “Super Natural Recipe Search” under it.

If you’re trying to eat more whole foods, or if you get some new produce in your CSA box and have no idea what to do with it, or if you’ve been perusing the bulk bins of whole grains at your grocery store but don’t know where to start, that button will be of tremendous use to you. I most recently used it to find new things to do with soba noodles, my current obsession.

Heidi Swanson, the author of my very favorite food blog 101 Cookbooks created the Super Natural Recipe Search to help easily find great recipes featuring natural, minimally processed ingredients. You can even submit your own creations to be added to the database! I’m a big fan. I most recently entered “soba” into the search box, and found some great things…like this!

So about this beautiful salad: It’s got soba and spinach, two fantastically healthy ingredients. (So does another soba recipe I made, but that one had a totally different flavor profile). The dressing starts with a giant scoop of peanut butter, so you can’t really go wrong there. It’s great still warm or cold the next day, so it’s perfect for packing in your lunch.

Recipe:
(adapted from Mighty Foods)
3 cups roughly chopped spinach
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 1-lb block extra firm tofu, drained
12 ounces soba noodles
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (green parts only)

Dressing:
1/3 cup natural peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp brown sugar

Cut the tofu into small cubes.
Heat the oil in a large skillet, then add the tofu and cook, stirring gently, until all the cubes are golden. Set aside.
Cook the soba in rapidly boiling water according to package directions.
Drain and rinse with plenty of cool water.
While the pan is still warm from cooking the noodles, add all the dressing ingredients and whisk them together (the heat will make the peanut butter easier to mix.)
Put the soba in a large bowl with the spinach and tofu, and toss with the dressing (you may not need to use all of it).