Salmon soba noodles with tenderstem broccoli, a ginger and honey dressing and quick pickled cucumber

This salad has it all - speed, nutrition and it really delivers on flavour. It’s a go-to in my house for the whole family, I just leave out the chilli when it's for the kids, and they love the dressing (I’m teaching my 5 year old to make it himself)! The soba noodles are traditionally gluten free as they are made from buckwheat which is not wheat (believe it or not), however beware, most brands add wheat flour as well as buckwheat flour, so hunt out a gluten free brand if you need to (Clearsprings is one).

You’ve got lots of protein here from the salmon, buckwheat sobas and edamames (a complete plant based protein), so blood sugars will be nice and balanced and it will keep you full for a good while. Do try ‘quick-pickling’ the cucumber if you can, the vinegar and chilli really cut through the fattiness of the salmon and add another layer of flavour and crunch!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the pickled cucumber:

½ cucumber, finely sliced

½ birdseye chilli, finely sliced

2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar

1tsp coconut sugar

For the salad:

240g salmon (2 fillets)

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Pinch salt and pepper

1 tbsp sesame seeds

150g soba noodles

150g tenderstem broccoli, each stem sliced into two or three pieces

100g edamame beans

Large bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped, plus some leaves for a garnish

1 red chilli, sliced

For the dressing:

1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

1 tsp honey

1 lime, juice

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp oil extra virgin olive oil, flax oil or avocado oil

1 thumb ginger, grated

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Start by pickling the cucumber. Combine the vinegar and sugar together, and whisk until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Add the sliced cucumber and chilli and leave in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

2. Place the salmon fillets on a baking tray (I like to line the tray with greaseproof paper or a use a silicon baking mat to stop the salmon sticking). Coat them in the rapeseed oil, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until just cooked through.

3. While the salmon is baking, boil the noodles for 4-5 minutes. Drain in cold water and leave in the water until ready to assemble the salad so they don’t stick together.

4. Steam the broccoli and the edamame beans for 3-4 minutes (you could do this over the boiling noodles if your steamer fits)!

5. Make the dressing by mixing the tamari or soy sauce, lime juice and honey in a small bowl. Add the oils slowly whisking all the time (this is to help emulsify the dressing and stop it from splitting). Finally add the grated ginger and mix.

6. To assemble the salad, drain the noodles, and add to a large mixing bowl with the broccoli, edamame beans, coriander, chilli and dressing. Serve onto plates and place the salmon fillet over the top of each.

7. Take the cucumber out of the pickling liquid and serve alongside. Enjoy!

Allergens:

Fish, soya, sesame

Notes:

Instead of salmon, you could use tofu or tempeh with this salad, and swap the honey for maple syrup, making it vegan. I always double up on this dressing (sometimes triple) as it keeps well sealed in a container in the fridge and my kids love it - it’s easy then to just pop some noodles on to boil and steam a few veggies for a quick nutritious meal. You could swap the tamari/soy sauce for a tsp of miso paste for a twist, but don’t use both as it will be too salty.