Plus a dreamy, creamy peanut and miso dressing
Each spring, I become a fiend for the fresh vegetables that suddenly begin to appear at farmers’ markets and grocery stores—asparagus and peas, lettuces and herbs—and I begin to think up all the ways I can infuse my diet with the color green. Last year I developed my Sheet Pan Quiche with Asparagus and Leeks, and the year before that I enjoyed bowl upon bowl of my Green Minestrone with Basil Pesto. This year I was inspired by the sweet crunch of sugar snap peas. I add them to a cold noodle salad that’s heavy on the vegetables (plus an unforgettable miso-peanut dressing). I prefer to use Asian-style wheat noodles like fresh or dried udon, for their soft, bouncy texture, but you could theoretically use a long pasta like spaghetti instead.
Snap peas aren’t the only crunchy green vegetable in this salad—I’ve also added cucumbers, jalapeños, and scallions. Getting a consistent texture comes down to strategic slicing. I cut the snap peas and scallions at a pretty extreme bias, making for almost diamond-shaped pieces, then I simply dice the cucumbers and slice the jalapeños into thin rounds. Generally speaking, the jalapeños at the grocery store aren’t as spicy as they used to be, but if you’re concerned about the heat, you could absolutely swap in thinly sliced green bell pepper. Alternatively, if you’re a fiend for spice, try a hotter pepper, like a bird’s eye chili.
Initially I had wanted to avoid a peanutty dressing, hoping to use something lighter and punchier. At first I tried several variations on J. Kenji López-Alt’s Miso Sesame Vinaigrette, which landed in my inbox as part of the NYT Cooking newsletter just as I was beginning to develop this recipe. But after a few tests, I found myself reaching for a dollop of peanut butter to add the body, creaminess, and depth that my salad was missing. In fact, it was so good that I began dipping snap peas directly into the dressing and nearly forgot to assemble my salad.
This salad has only one downside: It doesn’t keep well for very long in the refrigerator. This is because of a process called starch retrogradation, in which starch molecules rearrange themselves after cooling, resulting in a firmer texture (it’s why leftover pasta and rice aren’t particularly pleasant to eat cold). For this reason, you’ll want to wait until just before serving to cook the noodles. Once boiled, be sure to rinse them thoroughly with cold tap water. Not only does this cool them down; it also washes away starches that can cause the noodles to clump together. The other veggies and the dressing can all be prepped ahead of time and stored in the fridge. That way, all that’s left to do is boil and rinse the noodles, and dinner is ready in no time.