Soba noodles with lime, cardamom, and avocado

#meals/dinner #meals/lunch #cuisines/middle-eastern #cuisines/asian #dishes/main #dietary/vegan #scalable #active-time/30mins-or-less
Ottolenghi Simple
Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 90g buckwheat noodles
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 6g basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 6g cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 17g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
• 1/2 lime
• 2 tsp peanut oil
• 1/2 ripe small to medium avocado, sliced
• 1/4 tsp nigella seeds or Urfa chile flakes, to sprinkle (optional)
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package (they vary from brand to brand). Once cooked, refresh under cold running water and set aside in a colander to drain well.
2. With the flat side of a knife, crush the cardamom pods to open them up. Scrape the seeds out into a pestle and mortar and discard the outer husks. Crush the seeds - you should get about 1/2 tsp - and place in a large bowl with the noodles. Zest limes into bowl. Juice limes and add to bowl. Add the basil, cilantro, pistachios, oil, chile, avocado, and salt. Mix everything together well.
3. Serve into a bowl. Spoon any avocado, nuts, and herbs left in the bowl on top. Sprinkle with the nigella seeds and serve with a wedge of lime alongside.
   Note: crushing the cardamom freshly instead of using ground cardamom is important; it adds a much stronger and nicer flavor. If necessary, can substitute for 1/2 tsp ground cardamom.

Journal

• 2024-02-09: Made with Maria. Approximated a half recipe. Used a knife for the cardamom instead of a mortar and pestle. Topped with red pepper flakes instead of nigella seeds. Delicious! Important to salt it well.