Super Natural Every Day

I've been a longtime fan of Heidi Swanson's beautiful cookbook, Super Natural Cooking. It's actually sitting on my night stand. I read it occasionally to get ideas on what to make for the week ahead. Her award-winning blog 101 Cookbooks is always a huge inspiration for my kitchen and I'm thrilled to learn about her new book, Super Natural Every Day.

Featuring nearly 100 of her favorite vegetarian recipes, each one is easy to follow and the results are always delicious. Like her previous book, there is a major emphasis on using whole, unprocessed ingredients and natural sweeteners. Your body and taste buds will really thank you for getting this elegant and highly inspiring book.

I can't wait to try the Broccoli Gribiche, Wild Rice Casserole and the Green Lentil Soup. As for desserts, the Buttermilk Cake looks so pretty and inviting. I'm also intrigued by the Honey & Rose Water Tapioca.

Curious about Heidi's new book? As a preview, I've included the Black Sesame Otsu recipe below for you to try. I love soba noodles and the salty-sweet black sesame paste is beckoning me to dive right in. I bet I can eat this dish every single day.

Black Sesame Otsu
soba noodles, black sesame paste, tofu, green onions

1 teaspoon pine nuts
1 teaspoon sunflower seeds
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 60 g black sesame seeds
11/2 tablespoons natural cane sugar
11/2 tablespoons shoyu, tamari, or soy sauce
11/2 teaspoons mirin
Scant 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Fine-grain sea salt
12 ounces / 340 g soba noodles
12 ounces / 340 g extra-firm tofu
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch green onions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced

Toast the pine nuts and sunflower seeds in a large skillet over medium heat until golden, shaking the pan regularly. Add the sesame seeds to the pan and toast for a minute or so. It’s hard to tell when they are toasted; look closely and use your nose. Remove from the heat as soon as you smell a hint of toasted sesame; if you let them go much beyond that, you’ll start smelling burned sesame—not good. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and crush the mixture; the texture should be like black sand. Alternatively, you can use a food processor. Stir in the sugar, shoyu, mirin, sesame oil, brown rice vinegar, and cayenne pepper. Taste and adjust if needed.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously, add the soba, and cook according to the package instructions until tender. Drain, reserving some of the noodle cooking water, and rinse under cold running water.

While the noodles are cooking, drain the tofu, pat it dry, and cut into matchstick shapes. Season the tofu with a pinch of salt, toss with a small amount of oil, and cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes, tossing every couple minutes, until the pieces are browned on all sides.

Reserve a heaping tablespoon of the sesame paste, then thin the rest with 1/3 cup / 80 ml of the hot noodle water. In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, half of the green onions, and the black sesame paste. Toss until well combined. Add the tofu and toss again gently. Serve topped with a tiny dollop of the reserved sesame paste and the remaining green onions. Serves 4.

Reprinted with permission from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Photo credit: Heidi Swanson © 2011

Available at Amazon.com and TenSpeed.com.

For editorial consideration, a review book copy was provided for this post.

Comments

[Carolyn Jung]

I was eye-ing this recipe in the book, too! The black sesame paste just sounds so heavenly with those noodles. Definitely will have to try making this one!

[Tami]

If it's that good I might just make a bottle's worth and store it in the freezer!