Soba!

Summer is approaching, as as the weather heats up, here's a great soba dish to make for dinner- it's light and refreshing, but filling. Dylan recommended this to me, after he found it on 101cookbooks.com, and have made it a few times, adapting it a little bit from the original form (I added the mushrooms, and opted out of the cilantro). It's good warm, but I prefer to eat it cold, and it also works well as a leftover dish for lunches.

For the sauce:

Grated zest of 1 lemon
1-2 inch cube of ginger, grated
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons unseasoned brown-rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

12 ounces dried soba noodles
12 ounces extra-firm nigari tofu
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced

1/2- 1cup of shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

1 small handful of cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Make the sauce by combining the zest, ginger, honey, cayenne, and salt in a food processor (or use a hand blender) and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, rice vinegar, and shoyu, and pulse to combine. With the machine running, drizzle in the oils.

Cook the soba in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water just until tender, then drain and rinse under cold running water.

While the pasta is cooking, drain the tofu, pat it dry, and cut it into cubes. Cook the tofu in a dry nonstick (or well-seasoned) skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the pieces are browned on one side. Toss gently once or twice, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. Meanwhile, while the tofu is cooking, saute the mushrooms in a little olive oil and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, the ¼ cup cilantro, mushrooms, the green onions, cucumber, and about ⅔ cup of the dressing. Toss until well combined. Add the tofu and toss again gently. Serve on a platter, garnished with the cilantro sprigs and the toasted sesame seeds.