Sesame and Cilantro Vermicelli Salad
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If the heat of the summer is getting to you, this is a lovely spicy pasta salad for a hot day. One recent morning, on a day when the mercury eventually hit 105°F, I made this vermicelli pasta early in the morning and then let it marinate all morning in the fridge. By lunch time, it was a snap to quickly pull together.
Sesame and Cilantro Vermicelli Salad Recipe
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Ingredients
Honey Soy Dressing
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or corn oil
3 Tbsp dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper or chili powder
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce (less if using tamari which is more concentrated than soy sauce)
Salad
8 ounces of vermicelli, thin spaghetti, or angel hair pasta
Salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup sliced and chopped red bell pepper
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Method
1 Cook the pasta in a large saucepan in salted boiling water, according to directions on pasta package. Drain but do not rinse.
2 While the pasta is cooking, prepare the dressing. In a microwave-safe dish, heat the vegetable oil, sesame oil, and red pepper, in the microwave on high heat for 2 minutes. Add the honey and soy sauce and mix well.
3 Combine the drained pasta with the dressing in a large bowl until the pasta is well coated. Cover and chill for several hours.
4 When ready to serve, mix in the cilantro, peanuts, green onions and bell pepper. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Serves 4 to 8, depending on serving size.
Recipe adapted from Wild Thyme and Other Temptations from the Junior League of Tucson.
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Looks good. Question: For the honey-soy dressing, you list grapeseed or corn oil. In the preparation, you write vegetable oil. Can you clarify? Also - beyond preserving their freshness, texture or individuality of their flavors, is there any reason the other ingredients can't be mixed in with the pasta and dressing before chilling? Thanks, Elise...stay cool! It'll be over 100 here in NYC this week - ugh.