Szechuan Noodles

this recipe comes from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook which is one of my favorites. I don't have a picture of this dish, and I'm sorry about that, because nine times out of ten I decide whether or not I'll make something based on the picture! But if you can, just believe me that it's delicious! Basically, it's just pasta and veggies with a yummy peanut-buttery sauce (the sauce has most of the ingredients - don't be afraid.)

6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup good soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup sherry vinegar (I didn't have any of this so I used rice vinegar instead and it tasted fine)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 pound spaghetti (I used whole wheat spaghetti - you can't tell the difference with this yummy sauce all over it!)
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
4 scallions , sliced diagonally - white and green parts

Place the garlic and ginger in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the vegetable oil, tahini, peanut butter, soy sauce, sherry, sherry vinegar, honey, chili oil, sesame oil, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Puree the sauce. Cook the spaghetti. Drain the pasta. While still warm, toss with three-quarters of the sauce. Add the red and yellow bell peppers and scallions; toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature. The remaining sauce may be added, as needed, to moisten the pasta.


The cookbook also says that the sauce can be made a week ahead and then added to the hot pasta just before serving, which I did. I also added carrot slices and broccoli (and boiled them just for a minute along with the pasta to gently cook them a bit first) and it was all delicious! I only made as much pasta as we were going to eat at once, so I didn't toss in all of the veggies or all of the sauce, so I still have more in the fridge that I can add to make more fresh next time, instead of having reheated leftovers. SO delicious!