garlic soba noodles

Hefk and I joke about Heidi Sw*nson, maven of 101 Cookbooks, because we love her and yet she mystifies us a bit. (The amazing black bean brownies... let's just say "amazing" is not the word I would have chosen, and there's a reason that recipe didn't make it to this blog.) Her recipes often sound wonderful but go inexplicably wrong, or have one or two really strange ingredients you can never find, or use 62 different kitchen implements that you have to wash afterward.

That said, I love her website; although I usually have more luck with Elise's recipes, I am a faithful reader and member of the cult of personality of 101 Cookbooks. And this garlic soba noodles recipe is the first one I've ever made that lived up to its reputation on the blog -- and how good it looked in the picture. This will absolutely become a staple for me... next time, I'll try baking the tofu to see if I can get the coating to stick a little better, but all of it was totally delicious the way it is. I bought panko to try instead of the breadcrumbs next time, too.

8 ounces dried soba noodles

3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan freshly grated
big pinch of salt
12 ounces extra firm organic tofu, cut into 6 rectangular slabs (I cut the pieces smaller than this, which may be why I had trouble with the coating)
2 eggs, lightly beaten

a generous splash of olive oil
1 bunch green onions, greens trimmed, thinly sliced
4 big handfuls of chard, spinach or kale - destemmed and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated

a few baby radishes, sliced paper thin (I skipped this but I'm sure it would have been delicious)

Boil a large pot of water and cook soba noodles per packet instructions or until just tender. I like to salt my water generously as I would other pasta. Drain and set aside.

While the water is coming to a boil, get the tofu started by combining the bread crumbs, Parmesan and salt in a shallow plate. Dunk each piece of tofu in the egg and then press into the bread crumbs. Make sure each piece is nicely coated with crumbs. Place each piece on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pieces. Bake in a 375 degree oven or pan-fry in a skillet in a bit of olive oil until both sides are golden, flipping once along the way. Slice into strips and set aside.

Add the olive oil (and bit of salt) to a large skillet over med-high heat. Stir in the green onions, chard, and cook for a minute until the chard collapses. Stir in the soba noodles. Stir in the garlic powder and Parmesan. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with sliced radishes. Serve family-style or on individual plates - each nest of noodles topped with some of the tofu slices.

Serves 4-6.

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