by Nava Atlas
During those truly frantic days when both my sons were babies. I would rush into the kitchen at five-thirty in the afternoon, with only this thought going through my head: "Quick! Cook the noodles!"
No doubt, many busy cooks have similar thoughts when they want dinner in a hurry. Pasta is the perfect quick food--most varieties cook quickly enough to accommodate ravenous hunger, yet allow enough cooking time to prepare a simple sauce and a salad, with perhaps time to spare to cut some bread. It's hard not to love pasta, and wonder of wonders, even kids will eat it (even if you have to leave the sauce you like off their portion and just add a little butter or cheese to please finicky tastes).
For those who frequently rely on pasta dinners, it helps to have a variety of pastas in your pantry so that you don't start feeling that you're eating the same meal over and over again. Super-quick cooking results come from using angel hair (cappellini), vermicelli, or thin spaghetti. Oriental varieties such as soba (buckwheat noodles), udon noodles, and domestically-produced multi-grain varieties are not only equally quick to cook, they are also more nutritious and higher in fiber that supermarket varieties. Other pasta shapes I enjoy keeping on hand are spirals (great for chunky sauces), ziti or penne, plus tiny shells and wagon-wheels for the kids.
To expedite the cooking of any type of pasta, keep the lid on the pot as you're bringing the water to a boil. Then once the pasta is in, make sure to keep it cooking at an active simmer, though not an angry boil. Cooked this way, even the sturdiest varieties, like ziti, will be ready within 20 minutes, and in the meantime, a simple sauce and salad can be made.
INDONESIAN NOODLES
Serves 4
Pan-sautéed tofu or tempeh, plus some cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumbers, make this a complete meal.
1/2 pound soba or udon noodles (see Note)
2 tablespoons peanut oil or other vegetable oil
1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 pound fresh mung bean sprouts
1 to 1 1/2 cups snow peas, trimmed
2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
Hot red-pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
Dry-roasted peanuts for garnish
1. Begin cooking the noodles.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or very large skillet. Add the onion and garlic and sauté over moderate heat until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining ingredients except the peanuts and stir-fry over moderately high heat until the sprouts and snow peas are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes more.
4. When the noodles are done, drain them, add them to the wok, and continue to stir-fry for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the noodles from the heat and serve, garnishing each serving with a scattering of peanuts.
Note: Soba (also known as buckwheat noodles) and udon are delicious whole-grain noodles that are readily avail able in natural food stores. If you're in a pinch, use regular spaghetti or linguine; the results will be good though not quite as interesting.
Calories: 194
Total fat: 6 g
Protein: 6 g
Carbohydrate: 25 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Sodium: 513 mg
A note from The Natural Connection:
Nava's cookbooks are available through The Natural Connection's Bookstore.
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