A heart-smart recipe for cold sesame noodles and vegetables

A longtime favourite at Chinese restaurants, cold sesame noodles make a great main or side dish. We've replaced hard-to-find sesame paste with peanut butter and sesame oil.

• Preparation time: 15 minutes.
• Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes.
• Serves 4.

Ingredients:

Noodles

• 250 g (8 oz) whole-wheat linguine

Sauce

• 75 g (1/3 c) cilantro leaves
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) low-sodium peanut butter
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 12 ml (2 1/2 tsp) honey
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) rice vinegar or cider vinegar
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) dark sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• Salt to taste
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) cayenne
• 1/2 carrot, slivered
• 1 red pepper, slivered
• 1 large stalk celery, slivered
• 2 scallions, slivered

Instructions:

1. Cook linguine in large pot of boiling water according to package directions. Drain, reserving 125 millilitres (1/2 cup) cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, combine cilantro, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, salt and cayenne in food processor. Puree. Transfer to large bowl.
3. Whisk in reserved pasta cooking water. Add linguine, carrots, bell pepper, celery and scallions.
4. Toss. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

• The pasta cooking water, which carries some of the pasta's starch, is used here to stretch the sauce. It's a traditional Italian technique for thinning or smoothing a sauce so that it coats the noodles better. And the water replaces what might otherwise be a lot more fat.

Each serving provides:

• Key nutrients: 320 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 11 g protein, 52 g carbohydrates, 4 g fibre, 290 mg sodium.
• Blood pressure nutrients: 67 mg vitamin C, 53 mg magnesium, 356 mg potassium, 43 mg calcium.

• Add blanched cauliflower or broccoli florets to the vegetable mixture.
• Serve this dish warm by heating the sauce and adding cubes of cooked tofu.

Instead of spending money at a Chinese restaurant, give this authentic recipe a try. You can save money by making it yourself and control the ingredients for a healthy dinner that will quickly become a family favourite.