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pistachio butter noodles with seasonal veggies

by Jackie Newgent  |  May 19, 2019  |  0 Comments

Sorry peanuts! I turned your Asian-style peanut noodles into pistachio butter noodles. But, my tastebuds are not sorry at all! The pistachio flavor worked beautifully in this udon noodle dish. You’ll find a couple other special twists here, too. The jasmine green tea creates a surprisingly fragrant note to the sauce. And the no-sugar-added fruit spread provides just the right amount of sweet balance to the saltiness of the tamari.

You can actually make your own pistachio butter if you can’t find it or don’t want to buy the whole jar. Simply blend a few big handfuls of roasted shelled pistachios in a high-powered blender or food processor for at least 8 minutes. You’ll need to be patient with it and scrape down the sides of the blender or food processor container periodically. You’ll get creamier results using a blender. And if you prefer a looser rather than extra-thick pistachio butter, you can drizzle in a little bit of a neutral oil, like avocado oil or high-oleic sunflower oil, during blending.

The final recipe can be so much fun! The noodles provide a delicious vehicle in which to include some veggies—especially if you’ve got some scraps in the fridge. I used orange bell pepper and English cucumber here … and they were delightful. You can create so many variations of this recipe all year long just by switching up the vegetables.

If somehow you have leftover pistachio butter noodles, serve them as a salad … a “vintage” noodle salad, as I call it. And if you like, liven the noodles up by whisking together a little fresh grated ginger root with rice vinegar as desired and tossing with the cool noodles. Or simply squirt with lime juice. So zippy! (Hint: It’s an awesome Meatless Monday pick!)

 

pistachio butter noodles with seasonal veggies

Yield: 4 servings

Serving size: 1½ cups

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 ounces no-salt-added brown rice udon noodles or noodles of choice
  • 3 tablespoons pistachio butter or peanut butter
  • ½ cup unsweetened jasmine green tea, hot
  • 2½ tablespoons naturally-brewed tamari (soy sauce)
  • 2 tablespoons no-sugar-added apricot or peach fruit spread (jam)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 scallions, sliced, green and white parts separated
  • 1½ cups thinly-sliced non-starchy veggies of choice (Hint: Use leftover veggie scraps!)
  • Garnish as desired, such as with natural sriracha, chopped pistachios, and cilantro

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Prepare noodles according to package directions. (Hint: Use lower end of a range, such as 6 minutes when a 6- to 8-minute range is suggested.)
  2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the pistachio butter and about 3 tablespoons of the green tea. Then whisk in the remaining green tea, tamari, fruit spread, sesame oil, garlic, and white part of the scallions.
  3. Drain the noodles; do not rinse (even if the package says to!). While the noodles are hot, add them to the sauce mixture and toss to combine and until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the white part of the scallions and toss to combine. Add the non-starchy veggies and toss to combine. Alternatively, arrange the veggies on top of the noodles.
  4. Serve the noodles in a large bowl or individual bowls. Garnish as desired, such as sprinkled with sriracha, pistachios, and cilantro. Enjoy with chopsticks.

Per serving: 340 calories, 9g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 640mg sodium, 56g total carbohydrate, 2g dietary fiber, 7g total sugars includes 0g added sugars, 8g protein

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