Noodles with Ginger Cilantro Sauce

Being a sucker for noodle dishes with Asian flavors and an enthusiast of pesto-type sauces laced with fresh herbs, I was obligated at my core to make this dish. The freshest cilantro is everywhere right now (even if my planting isn’t quite mature enough to be used yet), and I had a big chile pepper ready to be picked in my back yard (the first true fruit of my gardening labors!). It’s not often when so much comes together in my favor, and, for once, I failed to squander the opportunity.

Which is great, because these noodles are truly delicious! They’re cooled after cooking and then start their flavor journey by being tossed with some sesame oil. The sauce is a puree of mostly cilantro and ginger, enhanced by vinegar, chile, soy sauce, tahini, and more sesame oil. There’s a lot of big flavor together, but it manages to be zesty, and perhaps slightly and pleasantly bitter, without being fiery or overwhelming. That being said, if you want to punch up a particular favorite flavor, there’s room to do so. (I was thinking of making them with this infused sesame oil next.)

In addition to plenty of farmer’s market cilantro, I also had a pretty bunch of green onions, so I finely chopped those and added them to my noodles, too. I think this could be an exciting dish if the sauce was doubled and lots of other seasonal vegetables were added: I’m thinking matchstick radishes and cucumbers, and/or finely chopped snap peas and green beans. And don’t forget shredded cabbage and carrots, and finely chopped broccoli. Maybe we’ll need to triple the sauce batch?

I served this as a main-dish salad, but you could also offer it as a side with some grilled chicken or tofu, perhaps made with this Chinese Style Barbecue Sauce and Marinade. I’d even put it on a summer buffet table next to barbecue beans and potato salad.

 

Well, really, I’d eat it anywhere and any-when. And these seasonal ingredients keep coming to the market and to my garden, so all will be right with the world …of noodles.

Sesame Noodles with Ginger Cilantro Sauce

Based on a recipe from The Bon Appetit Cookbook

If you find the sauce to be too thick, you can thin it with water, or chicken or vegetable broth. I did not find a need for this addition.

8 ounces dry long pasta, such as linguine, or rice noodles

2 ½ tablespoons peeled, chopped fresh ginger

1 small chile pepper (or half of a large one), seeds removed if desired, coarsely chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon tahini

3 tablespoons sesame oil, divided

Water or broth to thin sauce as needed

½ cup finely chopped green onions (scallions)

1. Cook the noodles in boiling salted water until done the way you like to eat them. (I like mine a bit softer than al dente.) Drain. Rinse with cold water until completely cooled. Drain well.

2. Combine the ginger and chile in the bowl of a food processor. Process to a coarse paste. Add the cilantro, soy sauce, rice vinegar, tahini, and 2 tablespoons sesame oil. Process until almost smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add some water or broth if the sauce seems too thick.

3. Toss the noodles with the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Add the green onions and pour over the sauce. Toss to coat well. You can also add some water or broth at this stage if the sauce seems to thick. Adjust the seasonings, to taste. Serve at room temperature or cool.

Makes about 4 side-dish servings, or 2 big main-dish servings.

Other recipes like this one: Noodles with Cilantro, Green Onions, and Peanuts; Sesame Noodle Salad; Peanutty Noodles; Thai Peanut Curry Noodles; Warm Noodles with Cilantro and Coconut Lime Dressing

One year ago: Radish Cilantro Salsa

Ginger Molasses Cookies

I never know whether I should use my limited free time to try new cookie recipes for Christmastime or stick with the recipes I know well, guaranteeing delicious results. I somewhat split the difference with these Ginger Molasses Cookies: these aren’t cookies I make regularly, but they probably should be.

 

There are lots of ways to make Ginger Molasses Cookies or various other ginger cookies or various other molasses cookies. I just settled on this one somewhat randomly, reduced the batch size, and substituted butter for the shortening.

I rarely have shortening in the house, so the butter swap was really more of a convenience than a hard-core culinary decision. I think I can taste the butter in the cookies, though, where perhaps the shortening would be close to flavorless. The shortening may also make a puffier cookie, where mine were thin and very soft and chewy.

 

I loved the big punch from the ginger in these cookies and the dark background of molasses. I suppose rolling the cookie dough in coarse sugar before baking isn’t absolutely necessary, but it gives the cookies a crunchy coating. And, frankly, it makes them pretty. I had a coarse, unrefined sugar on hand, but I think the sparkliest sugar you can find would make the prettiest cookies. While yumminess rules when it comes to any cookies, you know that a little bit of pretty goes a long way with your holiday sweets. Enjoy!

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

You can shape the dough or part of the dough into a disk, wrap it well, and refrigerate it for a few days or even freeze it.

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

¼ cup molasses

About ½ cup coarse sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare cookie sheets by lightly greasing or lining with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine well. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup granulated sugar and beat until well-combined, scraping the bowl at least once.

4. Beat in the egg and molasses scrape the bowl again and beat until smooth. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until completely combined.

5. Pour the coarse sugar into a small bowl. Shape the dough into balls about 1-1 ½ inches in diameter. Roll the dough balls in the coarse sugar to coat. Arrange the dough on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

6. Bake at 350 F for 8-11 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges and the tops look crackled and dry. Cool on the pan at least 1 minute. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. The cookies will be thin and chewy.

Makes about 40 cookies.

Other recipes like this one: Chai Spice Cashew Butter Cookies, Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Frosting

Just Peachy

I’ve been thinking about shortcakes since way back when strawberries were in season. While I never got around to making any, I had hoped to try a recipe for shortcakes studded with crystallized ginger (dried and sugar-coated ginger root). Then, more recently, I saw good fresh peaches from all over the country in the store where I get most of the produce that doesn’t come from the CSA*. I knew that they grew peaches in the Southeast, especially in Georgia (no one can visit Georgia without being reminded of this) and South Carolina, but the California, Colorado, Idaho, and even Michigan peaches were a bit of a surprise.

Not wanting to stand staring like a confused cook for too long, I quickly opted for the Michigan peaches. They were smaller, but had nice color and feel, smelled good (like peaches!), had a better price, and came from less far away. It turned out that they tasted good, too!


I’m not sure where I got the idea that peaches and ginger are a good match. It could be that I’ve read it and heard it so much in cookbooks, magazines and on television shows that it has just become something I now file under “Knowledge, Common” in my mind. Or perhaps it was the ginger-peach scented candle I had once upon a time from Pier 1 Imports. If my dessert tasted as good as that candle smelled, I’d be in business!

This recipe could probably do with some more testing, but, hey, this is a blog. I’m going to post it anyway. The shortcake batter was a bit wetter than I would like, so, next time I make this, I think I’ll start with ½ cup of half and half and add more as needed. I also made the shortcake biscuits too thin (I cut the dough into 8 portions; I recommend making 6 instead). They were still really good, but I would have liked them to be easier to split in half.

This dessert uses ginger root in three different forms: ground (ie, from a jar), fresh, and crystallized. The biscuits get a double dose with the ground ginger mixed in with the flour, and sweet, spicy bits of crystallized ginger waiting like pockets of buried treasure in the dough. I cooked minced fresh ginger with the peaches, so they were lightly infused with its unique but somewhat citrusy flavor.

I think the biscuits would be good on their own as a snack or as part of a complete breakfast (they freeze well), especially if gilded with a swipe of butter, perhaps flavored with lemon zest or more ginger. Taking the time to egg wash the tops and sprinkle them with coarse sugar (turbinado) gives them a sweet, crunchy crust. The peaches could be served on their own as well. They end up with a light syrup that soaks into the biscuits, but would probably also be nice over ice cream or yogurt and granola.

Triple Ginger Peach Shortcakes
Whole wheat pastry flour increases the WFQ** of this dessert (and uses up some of the five-pound bag I bought). You can replace it with more all-purpose flour if it is more convenient

For the Shortcake Biscuits

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
½ to ¾ cup half and half
1 egg, beaten with a little half and half or water
Turbinado sugar (such as Sugar in the Raw brand)

1.Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a large bowl stir the flours, baking powder, and ground ginger together with a whisk until well combined. Stir in the crystallized ginger.

2. Add the butter and cut it into the mixture with a pastry blender, knife or your hands until it looks crumbly.

3. Add the half and half and stir until just moistened with no remaining dry flour. You may wish to start with ½ cup and add up to ¼ cup more if needed.

4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Work it gently into a ball, then pat it out into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Cut dough into 6 equal squares. (You could also cut the dough into circles with a biscuit cutter if desired).

5. Place the biscuits onto a greased or lined pan (I use a silicone baking mat). Brush the biscuits with the egg wash and sprinkle each with turbinado sugar. Bake at 400 F for 18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

For the Peaches

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
6 ripe but firm peaches, sliced

1. Place the ginger, butter and sugar in a large skillet over medium low heat. Cook and stir until the butter and sugar have melted together. Cook 2-3 minutes more.

2. Add the peaches and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To Serve

Slice the shortcake biscuits in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Spoon peach mixture onto the bottom half of each shortcake and top with the top half. Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired (you know you want to!)

Makes 6 servings.

* CSA = Community Supported Agriculture. The one to which we subscribe is here.

**WFQ = Whole Food Quotient