You may have noticed that I’ve been on something of a soba noodle kick lately. This is because I’ve suddenly found a place to buy them in Panama, and this is a huge deal for me; I LOVE soba noodles. Not only are they ridiculously healthy for you, they’re also ridiculously tasty and ridiculously easy to cook.

This is one of my all-time classic dishes, and by that I mean that I totally nicked the idea (as have so many others) from the wonderful Fresh restaurant in Toronto. I’ve no idea if this is the way they make this dish, but their tahini sauce is to die for, and the idea of putting avocado atop all these other ingredients certainly comes from them.

With a glut of healthy ingredients and a sauce that’s full of goodness, this shouldn’t be as delicious as it is. This is the perfect meal for any night of the week, as it’s quick, awesome and just fantastic for you.

You’ll need:
(Feeds 2)
four tofu steaks – thick slices of firm tofu sliced into whatever size you fancy
1/2 Haas avocado, sliced thickly
1 small head broccoli, chopped roughly
1 large handful spinach
1 large handful beansprouts
1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly
2 portions soba noodles
oil
a splash of soy sauce
sesame seeds

For the tahini sauce:
1/2 cup tahini
the juice of 1 lemon
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
optional: 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast

Method:
Fry the tofu steaks in a little oil until they’re browned on each side
While frying, in a blender or food processor, quickly pulse all the tahini sauce ingredients together until smooth
Drain the tofu steaks and set aside
In the same frying pan, heat a little more oil, toss in the broccoli and cook for a few minutes
Add in the soy sauce, spinach and beansprouts, and stir fry for a few more minutes
In a separate saucepan, bring some water to a boil then throw in the soba noodles and cook for a few minutes until they’re soft
Drain immediately and rinse quickly in warm water, add to the vegetables, toss well, then remove from the heat
Split the noodles and vegetables between two bowls, the top with slices of red pepper, avocado slices and tofu steaks, then drizzle the tahini sauce over everything
Garnish with sesame seeds and serve!

Avocado, tahini, spinach, tofu, buckwheat…what more could you want? This is a healthy kickstart wrapped up in a bow. In fact, I think I’m going to make it again…