This is an asian inspired raw pasta made with kelp (seaweed) noodles.  Surprise, not all seaweed is green!  Kelp noodles are loaded with minerals and vitamins that your body doesn’t always get enough of.  And these noodles aren’t full of empty carbs that you’re body can surely do without!  They don’t have a strong, off-putting taste like some seaweed.  You can find them at Sea Tangle Noodle Company or, like everything else these days, at Amazon.

You’re going to need to plan ahead to allow for soaking time in a bath of water and lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar).  These noodles are a little rubbery straight out of the bag.  The acid in the lemon or vinegar softens the texture, and the water plumps them up a bit.  It also tames the mildly bitter flavor.  You won’t regret this first step.  Just fill a bowl with some filtered water and add the juice of half a lemon or a tablespoon of the vinegar.  I used Bragg’s raw apple cider vinegar on these.

While the noodles are soaking, put together this yummy, spicy almond butter-tahini dressing:

• 2 Tablespoons almond butter (substitute peanut or cashew butter)
• 1 Tablespoon tahini
• 1.5 Tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (substitute Tamari, Nama Shoyu, or Soy Sauce)
• 1.5 Tablespoons raw agave (substitute honey or maple syrup)
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 piece of garlic
• 1/2 piece of ginger (*see below for how to always have this on hand!)
• cayenne to taste
• red pepper flakes to taste (I go heavy on these ’cause I like some heat)

*Skip the dried ginger, it has very little taste.  Buy a knob of ginger root in the produce section.  Use what you need and freeze the rest.  When a recipe calls for it, just take it out and cut off a piece, use a knife or vegetable peeler to shave off the woody, outer bark.  This is the best way to always have it on hand, and it keeps from wasting a leftover knob.

Since I ran out of almond butter in the jar, I made my almond butter from scratch.  There were just enough almonds in my fridge to pull it off.  It’s simple, but a bit time consuming.  All you need are raw almonds, and a food processor.  Oh, and patience!

It will look like this when you first start grinding:

After a while, the almonds will start to stick against the walls of the container.  Stop pulsing, and use a spatula or spoon to scrape down the sides.  Keep grinding.  In 10 – 15 minutes it will look like this:

Keep scraping the sides, and after a little while longer, you will have almond butter that looks like this:

Drain and rinse your kelp noodles, squeeze out the excess water and place in your bowl.  Toss with the asian dressing until well coated.  If you want, you can add some chopped veggies.  Good choices are bok choy, red bell pepper, cilantro, basil, grated carrot, green onion, and sesame seeds.  Set aside the combined dish to let the flavors culminate, for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy, these flavors are synergistic when combined…a taste explosion!  You won’t miss your old pasta very much

-JW

Tags: agave, almond butter, asian, cayenne, garlic, ginger, kelp noodles, lime, raw, raw pasta, sesame oil, spicy, tahini, vegan, vegetarian