A couple of days ago there was a Dutch program on tv about the consequences of eating meat and fish. Aside from the confronting facts about the meat industry they showed a couple of extremely delicious looking vegetarian meals. Inspired as we were here at the BLEND office we looked up an tasty veggie dish. Our search resulted in Otsu, a Japanese noodle salad with tofu that can either be served hot or cold, just as you prefer.

Ingredients:
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Fresh ginger, cut into a 1-inch cube, peeled, and grated

1 tablespoon honey

3/4 teaspoon cayenne

3/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup unseasoned brown-rice vinegar
1/3 cup shoyu sauce (wheat-free 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

1/2 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced

1 small handful of cilantro sprigs, for garnish

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Make the dressing 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 rectangles roughly the size of your thumb (½ inch thick and 1 inch long). 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.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, the ¼ cup cilantro, 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.