Cold Soba Salad with Miso Vinagrette

Source: Saveur

This recipe calls for Shiso (and has a suggested substitute) - read about it here: What is Shiso and How to Use It

Cold Soba Salad with Miso Vinagrette

Ingredients

5 oz. small radicchio leaves
5 oz. small red leaf lettuce leaves
Handful of small shiso or basil leaves
1 lb small grape tomatoes
8 small dill fronds
4 small carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
2 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced crosswise
2 red finger chiles
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp. rice vinegar
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. white miso paste
4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. sugar
1 (4 inch) piece ginger, peeled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
16 oz. Fresh Soba Noodles or dried noodles

Method

In a large bowl, combine both lettuces with the shiso, tomatoes, dill, carrots, and cucumber. Using a knife, begin thinly slicing the chiles from the tip. When you reach the seeds, stop slicing and discard or save the remaining chile for another use. Add the sliced chile to the lettuces in the bowl and toss to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil with the lemon juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, miso paste, sesame oil, and sugar. Using a Microplane (or a fine grater) set over a fine sieve set in a bowl, grate the ginger into the sieve, then press on the solids to drain as much juice as possible into the bowl. Pour 2 teaspoons of the ginger juice into the bowl with the dressing and discard the rest or save for another use. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and whisk until emulsified. Place dressing into jar (or carafe) for serving and sprinkle with some of the sesame seeds.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the soba noodles until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain the noodles into a colander and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. Drain the noodles again and place in serving bowl. Top the noodles with the lettuces and vegetables, sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds.  Serve with the dressing on the side, or toss with dressing immediately before serving.