Asian flavors · Do-ahead · Pasta · Vegetarian pasta

Nigella’s addictive cold soba noodles with sesame seeds

Serves 4 as part of a meal, but you won’t be able to stop eating them, I promise!
This is the sort of food I could dive into and you would never see me again. Very dangerous!

1/3 cup sesame seeds
kosher salt
8 oz soba noodles
2 tsp seasoned rice vinegar
5 tsp soy sauce (I use the low sodium one)
2 tsp honey (Buckwheat honey gives a little more flavor, but any interesting honey would be great)
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
6 scallions

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over a high heat until they look golden brown and give off a nice aroma, then tip into a bowl.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add some salt. Put in the soba noodles and cook them for about 6 minutes (or according to the package instructions) until they are tender but not mushy.
Have a bowl of iced water waiting to plunge them into after draining or better still, and less fussy, pour them into a colander and run the cold tap over them for a moment or two!

In the bowl you are using to serve your guests, mix the vinegar, soy sauce, honey and sesame oil. Finely slice the scallions and put them into the bowl with the cooled, drained noodles and mix together thoroughly before adding the sesame seeds and tossing again.

Leave the sesame seed noodles for about half an hour to let the flavors develop. (go and pour yourself a nice glass of wine)