For the very first guest post on Chef in Disguise I couldn’t think of anyone better than my best friend Rasha. She is an amazing person,smart, compassionate, a true friend if there ever was one  and above it all she’s a talented cook..she sadly doesn’t have a blog YET but I keep telling her she should get one :)..It is an honor to have her as my very first guest

This is a very fresh salad, which is perfect for a light lunch or as an accompaniment to Sawsan’s chicken Skewers.

The recipe is a modified edition of Jamie Oliver’s recipe.

Ingredients:

125gm egg noodles

1 bunch fresh coriander

1 red onion (or 2 spring onions)

1 red chilli (or 1tbs chilli flakes)

1 lime (you’ll only need the juice)

1tbs extra virgin olive oil

1tsp toasted sesame oil

1tsp fish sauce (optional)

45-50gm honey glazed cashew nuts

1-2tbs sesame seeds

2-3tbs soy sauce

Salt to taste

How to make it:

Boil the egg noodles according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once tender, drain and run under cold water. Drain and set aside.

To make the dressing, either use a food processor or finely chop 2/3 the coriander bunch (stalks and all),  the onions and the chilli and mix well with the lime juice, soy sauce, olive oil, sesame oil and fish sauce (if you like it).

Mix the dressing with the noodles and the remaining 1/3 of the coriander bunch (use only the leaves). Season to taste with salt (remember soy sauce is salty already).

Heat up a small pan and add the cashew nuts (careful as they burn quickly, luckily the fire alarm didn’t go off THIS TIME!!). Once  heated and the glaze begins to melt, add the sesame seeds and keep on tossing until roasted and the sesame seeds stick to the cashew nuts.

You can actually make your own honey glazed cashews (but I am too lazy) by roasting the cashew nuts in a pan, and once they begin to brown, drizzle with honey and toss until fully glazed and browned.  Follow the same instructions as before (i.e. add the sesame seeds).

Remove the cashews from the pan and toss with the noodle salad. Serve immediately so that they do not become soggy. If you wish to serve it later, add the cashews at the time of serving.

The whole quantity comes up to approximately 650Kcal.

Hint:

If you like to make the salad creamier, you can add 1-2tps peanut butter or even cashew nut butter to the dressing. This will add 100-200 calories to the dish (but well worth it).