If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories, then you might have caught a little glimpse of this dish in the making the other day! It was one of those recipe creation days, when I knew I wanted to make something, but hadn’t done a proper food shop! My fridge was looking rather bare and lonely to say the very least! Actually, sometimes I do quite enjoy these kind of moments, as it’s always a bit of a challenge to see what I can throw together. I would love to say that this always results in an amazing recipe creation, but sadly this is not the case! However, this time, I was pleasantly surprised with the turn out of this noodle dish and it will definitely something that I will be making again. If anything, I think this really does go to show that you can absolutely whip up a nutritious and really tasty meal, without having to break the bank on ingredients and in virtually no time at all! Oh, another thing.. did I mention that this dish is also completely meat free! You could also create a vegan option, by switching up the honey for brown rice or maple syrup.
So, first of all I’ll tell you about the noodles! I always opt for buckwheat noodles, as I really like both the flavour and texture of these, and they’re really easy to prepare. However, I have found that this does depend on the brand, as some of them can tend to be a little more sticky than others.. and no one likes their noodles to be stuck together in one big clump now do they?! This did actually happen to my boyfriend once, which was pretty hilarious to watch him plate up!
There’s quite a mix of vibrant flavours going on here, as we’ve got a hint of sweetness and fresh flavours from the green peas, sweet & slightly salty miso sauce and spiced, crunchy chickpeas. Miso is one of my new-found loves when it comes to flavouring sauces. I absolutely love asian style foods and miso just provides such an incredible, unique flavour. It’s quite a strong and punchy flavour and I find that different kinds of miso can taste completely different. My personal favourite is the sweet white miso; which has quite a light, mellow flavour with hints of sweetness in there too. My favourite one so far is from a brand called Clearspring, which you can get in Wholefoods and Planet Organic (this is not sponsored, I just really love this brand!). It might seem a little pricy- I think it’s around £4-5 for the packet, but a little really does go a long way and I always get a LOT of use out of it, as I could add it into just about everything haha!
Sauces like this are something that I would highly recommend if you’re looking for quick and simple ways to spice up your meals, without piling on lots of additional calories in shop bought sauces and oils. They’re also a really handy way to spice up simple vegetable dishes and transform them into a flavoursome plate of goodness! So, if you’re looking to sneak some more veggies onto someones plate, then dishes like these are always a go-to for me! My boyfriend does enjoy a lot of healthy foods and some of our favourite restaurants are actually plant based. However, isn’t the best at eating his greens when cooking from home; our housemate has only ever witnessed him eating a vegetable once in the past 5 months! If he was cooking for himself, it would be exceptionally rare for his dish to include the likes of chickpeas and broccoli! But, to my slight surprise, he loved this dish- so I’m thinking this will be one for meal prep next week then!
So, we’ve got noodles, greens, miso sauce and to add an extra little burst of crunch.. crispy spiced chickpeas! On their own, these can be a little bland in flavour and texture. However, chickpeas are in fact an amazing and really versatile ingredient to create an array of savoury dishes, desserts and dips! There are countless different ways to prepare this simple little pulses; my current favourite being, to fry them off in a little oil with some curry spice. This creates a really delicious crunchy texture, that works as a great addition to salads, stir fries, toppings for soups or simply just as a snack on their own. It’s a pretty no-fuss way to jazz up such a simple ingredient and pack an extra punch of flavour into a meal.
[buymeapie-recipe id=’38’]
