Sesame Noodles from Mary Ann Valente!

Whenever the sky turns this quiet gray I feel like a cloud drifts into my head creeping itself slowly around my brain until all of my thoughts become insulated in a fuzzy haze that makes all tasks take a good 30 minutes longer than they should...Lucky for me, one of my favorite members of the Relay retailer family, Mary Ann Valente, sent me a guest blog for the day!

Mary Ann and her mother have been making handmade (deliciousss) pasta in Charlottesville since 1982...maybe you've seen Pasta Valente packages around town. Her mother actually started selling at the Charlottesville City Market before Mary Ann joined her in 1987. The pasta making process is fascinating and definitely something I'll be explaining (with pictures) another day, but today, I'll pass it on to Mary Ann!

I am honored to be the first guest blogger at Retail Relay. I hope you enjoy it.

Recently, I saw the movie about Julia Child and then read her book, “My Life in France”. Though I share some of her food passions, after a while I became exhausted by her energy. Like Julia Child I studied French Cuisine in Paris and worked for a very precise and talented French chef. I was passionate about doing it the correct way.

Now I don’t have that kind of time and I just don’t have the energy either. Isn’t that what restaurants are for?

So what I love is to get dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less. Our pasta cooks in 3-4 minutes. And when I am in mood for fresh vegetables I make my sesame noodles. I can add anything that is in season or on sale. If I want to buy local vegetables or add a canned assortment the recipe is flexible enough. In the time it takes the water to boil I can cut the vegetables, mix the oils, and grate the ginger.

Lately I find myself entertaining vegans. Chilled Sesame noodles is one of my easiest menu ideas to meet their food requirements: I add peanut butter (about 2 Tbsp) and crushed pepper to give it a Thai noodle taste. This is also one of my favorite dishes to potluck too. It can be prepared ahead of time and the oil tossed with it just before serving.

For Valentine’s Day we are having the old standby of chilled sesame noodles with tuna steaks. The secret is the fresh clean, crisp taste of al dente noodles, good sesame oil and grated fresh ginger.

Here’s the recipe:

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup sesame oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 English cucumber

1 large carrot

1 bunch green onions

2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

And of course 1 package of Pasta Valente Angel Hair pasta or Spinach Linguine ( for Vegans )

2-4 Tuna steaks, cooked on the grill or sautéed in oil

Cut the veggies, toast the sesame seeds until light brown, grate the ginger, and cook the pasta. Rinse the pasta in cold water. Toss everything together and serve. Serves 4

Well as Julia would say “Bon Appetit”.