Vegan Appetizers
Spicy Szechuan Noodles

I was introduced to these spicy noodles by a friend in Honolulu many years ago. Her version was made with peanut butter. I do not eat peanuts, so I created this variation for my family and they LOVE it!

You will find the word Szechuan, pronounced (schwän), spelled all kinds of was on the Internet. This recipe yields 2 1/2 cups of sauce... enough sauce for two one pound boxes of linguini or spaghetti pasta. I use 1 1/4 cups for a one pound package of linguini. One cup for mixing into the hot drained pasta and 1/4 cup to spoon over the top of the serving dish with jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, cilantro, mint, scallions and cashews.

The remainder of the sauce is saved for a night when I'm not very inventive and want something exotic, but fast and easy.

Servings
4 to 6 Servings as Entree
8 to 12 Servings as Appetizer

Ingredients
The Sauce Ingredients
1/2 cup cashew butter
1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup tahini (ground sesame seeds)
1/2 cup tamari
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce, organic
(Lian How Brand Chili Sauce contains: chili, salt, vinegar, sesame oil. Contains NO preservatives.)

The Pasta Ingredients
1 pound linguini, spaghetti, or any kind of pasta
2 tablespoons sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

The Finish Ingredients
1/2 cup cashews, pan roasted and rough chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, julienned
1 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
sprigs of cilantro for decoration
4 scallions, finely sliced diagonally

optional
1 jalapeno pepper, fine dice
1/4 cup green bell pepper, julienned
1/4 cup red bell pepper, julienned
1/4 cup orange bell pepper, julienned
1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, julienned

Tools
Cuisinart Food Processor
measuring spoons
measuring cups
cutting board
knife
cutting board
large pot for boiling pasta with lid
pasta drainer

Preparation
Pasta Preparation
Fill a large pot with water, 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil and bring to a boil while preparing the Szechuan Sauce.

Create The Sauce
Use a Cuisinart fitted with the knife blade and add:
the tahini, cashew butter, tamari, rice wine vinegar, honey, hot chili sauce, sesame oil, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic and ginger.

Puree until the contents become a smooth sauce.

There will be 2 1/2 cups of sauce created from this recipe.

Set aside 1 1/4 cup of the Szechuan sauce for the pasta.

HINT: If the sauce is too thick for your taste, try adding 1/4 cup plain Silk Soy Milk Creamer or Plain Wildwood Creamer to the noodles and toss lightly.

Pour the remaining 1 1/4 cups of sauce in a jar and store in the refrigerator... this sauce will last refrigerated for 3 weeks.

Dry Roast Cashews
For a topping on the finished noodles, add the cashews to a heavy bottomed fry pan and toss over medium heat. Continue tossing till the nuts are fragrant and lightly browned.

Remove the cashews from the heat  and pour onto a dry cutting board to cool.

Once cool, give the cashews a rough chop and scrape into to serving bowl till the Spicy Szechuan Noodles are plated.

Finishing Touches
Drain the pasta and add 1 cup of the sauce and toss to completely coat.

Just before serving, add the mint, cilantro, scallions, and optional colorful julienned bell peppers and diced jalapeno... gently toss into the pasta and serve. Add a few springs of cilantro and mint to each plate to make a grand presentation.

This dish may be served warm or at room temperature.

Szechuan Noodles makes a great make ahead weekend buffet item to have in the refrigerator. These noodles reheat quickly in a sauce pan or may be eaten at room temperature.

Buffet Party Idea
Buffet food needs to be easy to handle. Long pasta noodles can be difficult to navigate when balancing a plate and drink. So for buffet parties, you might want to consider using a smaller pasta shape that can be "forked".

Presentation
Appetizer Serving

Use a large fork and twist a mound onto it and place on the serving plate.

Sprinkle with a few dry roasted cashews, dust with the finely sliced green scallions and add a few cilantro sprigs and enjoy. This makes an artful appetizer plate and the taste will WOW anyone who loves Chinese food.

Buffet Serving
Szechuan Noodles make a fabulous buffet platter. Simply reserve some fresh cilantro springs to tuck under the edges of the pasta and sprinkle some cashews, scallions and cilantro over the top... ooh, la, la!