Eating For Your Future/Rice Noodles with Sesame Pesto

I am a nut for pesto. It can be made pine nuts, walnuts, it doesn't matter, I love it. But since I am trying to stay away from dairy, and animal products in general, pesto hasn't been on the menu until I found this fabulous version. I came across the recipe while organizing some recipes I had just thrown into a pile. I guess I should have done some cleaning a little sooner ;) This version of pesto is made with toasted sesame seeds, basil, olive oil, chili oil, rice vinegar, and garlic, It comes from a company called A Taste of Thai. I have used a number of their products and have always enjoyed them. This recipe is easy to make, low fat, wheat free, and dairy free. A winning combination!  

You can find the original recipe HERE. Be sure to go to the website as you'll find a printer friendly version there. I did not include the teaspoon of sugar and I didn't miss it.

Rice Noodles with Sesame Pesto

YIELD

Serves 4

TIME

20 minutes from start to finish

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2-16 oz bag (8 oz) A Taste of Thai Rice Noodles
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 cup firmly packed basil leaves, stems removed
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons hot chili oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1.	Preheat oven to 300°F. Put a large pot of water on to boil, with one tablespoon salt.
2.	Spread sesame seeds on pan. Toast in oven for about 2 minutes or until golden. Watch them carefully so they don't burn. Remember brown means bitter!
3.	Put basil leaves, garlic, toasted sesame seeds, chili oil, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, and salt in blender. Blend until smooth.
4.	When water boils, add Rice Noodles. Stir to separate noodles.
5.	Boil noodles according to directions on box, until tender but firm (al dente).
6.	Drain noodles and very briefly rinse with lukewarm water. Return noodles to pot and toss with sauce. Enjoy!

I decided to turn the dish into a main dish, so while the noodles were boiling, I sauteed pea pods, bean sprouts, tofu and a shredded carrot in a little sesame oil until tender.

Before serving, I topped the dish with chopped green onions.It was absolutely delicious. If you like pesto, give this recipe a try. I think you'll be happy that you did.