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Hi there! I'm Courtney
Hi there! I'm Courtney
I'm glad you're here! I share reliable recipes for real life and everyday celebrations. When I'm not taking care of my two kids or volunteering for political campaigns, you'll probably find me near a cheese board, hopefully laughing and sharing drinks with my favorite people.
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Sesame Noodles

        date:

Since getting our fabulous pasta maker, Eric and I have been making quite a bit of pasta.  Though we were making different types of pasta, we always made the same sauce.  While I love tomato sauce, I was looking for something different so we wouldn’t be eating the same meal every week.  Plus, I wanted a dish that would be lighter than our usual pasta with tomato sauce.  Then I found this recipe, which was everything I was looking for and more.

This pasta is perfect for summer.  It’s light and requires very little cooking.  I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but being in the kitchen for hours when it’s over 100º outside is not something I enjoy.  Though short on cooking time, there’s no shortage of flavor in this dish.  The sauce gets depth and richness from the tahini and peanut butter.  With just a few other ingredients and a bit of pasta water, you’ve got a pasta sauce that is a tasty alternative to heavy sauces.

I made a couple minor changes to the original recipe.  I added snap peas because I thought they would go well with this dish.  This changed the pasta to vegetable ratio substantially, but I like a lot of vegetables.  Use more pasta or less vegetables to adapt this to your tastes.

  • YIELD: 4 servings
Ingredients

  • 8 ounces whole-wheat thin spaghetti

  • 1 heaping tablespoon tahini

  • 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

  • ½ teaspoon sesame oil

  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

  • 4-6 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, dark green parts set aside

  • 1 cup sugar snap peas, stringed

  • 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks (about 1 cup)

  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

  • 1 cup reserved pasta water

Directions
  • 1

    Cook pasta according to package directions. (Our fresh pasta only took about 4 minutes, so keep that in mind if you’re using fresh.) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tahini, peanut butter, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and white and light green parts of green onions. Stir until well combined and set aside.

  • 2

    Add snap peas and carrots to pasta in the last two minutes of cooking time. Remove 1 cup pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta and vegetables and place into bowl with sauce. Add ½ cup reserved pasta water and toss to combine.

    Add sesame seeds and allow to sit for one minute.  If pasta sauce is still too thick, add more reserved pasta water as needed. Top with remaining green onions, if desired. 

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4 responses to “Sesame Noodles”

  1. Amy and Jeff says:
    July 9, 2010 at 3:55 pm

    This looks and sounds delicious! I might have to try it with store bought pasta since I haven't made fresh pasta ever.

  2. Amy of Sing For Your Supper says:
    July 9, 2010 at 4:46 pm

    This looks great!! Perfect for summer!

  3. Star says:
    July 12, 2010 at 2:59 am

    You are so great at composing photos of your food! I want to try this recipe this week. Ever thought of adding an email to a friend link?

  4. Courtney Champion says:
    July 12, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    Thanks, Star! I don't feel like I am, but I do try hard to make them look good. I do want to add some buttons soon; I just need to lookup how to do it. I'd like to have email, share on facebook/twitter, and add to delicious buttons eventually.