Chilled Capellini with Tomato& Basil

Other than pasta salad, have you had pasta served cold?  In Japan, "Chilled Capellini (angel hair pasta) with Tomato" is quite a popular dish many Italian-style restaurants serve during summer time. Apparently this is not an authentic, traditional Italian dish..  But nowadays, I heard some restaurants in Italy serve cold pasta dishes, inspired by Japanese cold noodle dishes...Kind of like California Rolls which is no way traditional / authentic Japanese, but recently gaining popularity in Japan.
Anyways, I love noodles, and I like them cold especially on the hot summer day. This recipe uses roasted tomatoes, which you prep the night before (super easy, you just have to turn on the oven!) and chilled overnight. Tossed with fresh basil, you know you have a winner. Simple, fabulous, refreshing, wonderfully tomato-icious ; P


Ingredients (enough for 4 people):
1 (796 ml/ 28fl oz) Canned Diced tomato
2-3 TBS Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or as much as you like)
1 tsp  salt

1. Place the chopped basil and the salt in a large bowl.
2.Drain the juice from the can, and place the diced tomato in a bowl. Toss with the olive oil and minced garlic.
3.Spread the tomatoes out in a baking pan or cookie sheet in single layer, and roast at 400F for 25-30 minutes.
4. Scoop the tomatoes directly into the bowl with the basil. Toss to mix. Chill overnight or at least 2-3 hours until the tomatoes are completely chilled.

Pasta (Capellini, 80-100g per person)
1. Cook capellini (or angel hair pasta) al dente.
2. Drain the pasta into a colander, while running a cold water onto the pasta. Leave the water running for a while over the pasta. Once the pasta is cool enough to touch, take handfuls and gently swish and rub them in the running water, as if you are washing the noodles. The goal here is not just to get the noodle ice cold, but to get rid of the starchiness from the noodles.
4. Very important! Drain the excess water from the pasta really well. 
5. Add the drained pasta to the bowl with the tomato & basil. Toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper, and if you like, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Serve very cold.

Avocado Wasabi Dip

If you are looking for a new twist to the ordinary Mexican style guacamole, try this one.  Imagine that slight wasabi tang with the creamy avocado... mmmm! The ultimate combination ; )

Serve with baked pita bread (like hummus) or french baguette, and top with sliced black olives.  I didn't have black olives this time, but please try it if you have one.. It is WAY better that way!


Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
1 tsp   wasabi paste
1 1/2  tsp  Japanese soy sauce
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Mix everything together until smooth.

Light & Creamy Tofu Hummus

I like anything involving beans, and hummus is one of my favorite. This tofu version is certainly not very traditional, but it turned out much more creamier and lighter in taste, than the garbanzo version. It is also faster to make, and higher in protein!  And somehow, it even feels healthier!  Banzai Tofu!! : )

1 package (approx 450g) Soft Tofu
100 ml Tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS olive oil
3 TBS no fat plain yogurt
1-2 tsp Salt

1. Cut open the package of tofu over your sink. There is usually a fair amount of liquid in the package, depending on the brand you buy. Drain all the liquid and take out the tofu. Wrap the tofu with paper towel, and place it on a microwave-safe dish / bowl. Microwave for 2-3 minutes.

2. Combine tofu and all the rest of the ingredients in a  blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.  Adjust to taste.

3. Drizzle olive oil and garnish with paprika and cilantro.

Shichimi Soy Dressed Cucumber

The post on the CHOW about the Japanese spice "Shichimi" inspired me to make this dish today. I've never thought of Shichimi as an "all-purpose" seasoning though..   Shichimi is not something we use so often in everyday cooking. As a matter of fact, only time I really use Shichimi is to sprinkle a little bit on Udon noodle soup to add some kick to it. But anyways, this write-up made me want to explore other ways to use this interesting spice.  So, here is my recipe for today, using the "shichimi" spice.

Ingredients:
4 pickling cucumber (or 1 English cucumber, or 2 Japanese cucumber)
Soy Dressing:
1 TBS Japanese soy sauce
1/2 TBS Sesame oil
1 TBS Juice from the grated ginger
1 TBS Roasted sesame seeds
1 pinch (or to taste) Shichimi

About Shichimi:
Also known as "Shichimi Togarashi". "Shichi" means Seven and "mi" means Favours, and "Togarashi" means capcicum. As the name says, it is a spice consisting seven different flavours. It generally contains, poppy seeds, sansho (a spice with a flavor like Sichuan peppercorn), dried tangerine peel, seaweed flakes, ginger, sesame seeds, and can also include mustard seeds, hemp seeds, shiso leaves etc.  Actual ingredients may vary depending on the brand.




1. Beat the cucumbers lightly with a meat tenderizer hammer and cut them in bite size lengths.
Beating the cucumber creates more surface areas to absorb the dressing, but be gentle, you don't want to end up with the mashed cucumbers..

2. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the soy dressing.

3. Toss the cucumber with the soy dressing.