i planned on starting this post off telling you about how i'm drooling over these pictures….
but i changed my mind and i'm not doing that
insteaddddd i wanna tell you that i made this recipe for friends over this weekend and it won over a veggie hater (who went back for seconds – potentially thirds?) AND two of the friends said they planned on making it too because its perfect for summer. YUP. (also, frankie loves this too – he was the one who actually requested it for the Euro Final)
i one thousand million percent TRULY believe if you could only try one new recipe this summer, THIS is the only one you need.
why?
why???
because it's downright addicting and… HEALTHY. yep i said it. theres one package of ramen noodles in this bad boy and that's as bad as it gets. we're talking vegetables.
VEGGIES. VEGGIES. VEGGIES. yes.
veggies in noodle form, which happens to be my FAVORITE form for veggies.
especially broccoli stems.
they're the poor, lonely child of the vegetable family. which is seriously a shame because… they have the exact same nutritional value as their florets.
do you know what that makes them? a nutritional powerhouse. yeppppp.
we use them all the time in our house because i spiralize them and frankie doesn't even know they're there. ?
we're talking CARROTS. because carrots are the best and they're pretty and i had multicolored ones leftover after shooting the roasted multicolored carrots from last week!
plus they're also very good for you.
and there ain't no party like a sweet corn partayyyyy. so we have to have some corn! because it's the season. and it's delicious.
however – full disclaimer, i have and do often make this salad with canned corn when i'm lazy and/or don't have time to get ears of corn and it's perfectly wonderful. i promise.
ALSO. we're adding red onion. because, it's my favorite.
this wouldn't be a “ramen” salad without ramen noodles.
i'll forever remember the moment i learned to like ramen noodles in all their instant broth glory.
junior year of college one of my best friends, LJ, and i had schedules that synced up one day a week so that we had afternoons in our suite completely by ourselves. I would go into her room and we'd lay in her bed and watch reruns of the cosby show.
and she made ramen noodles from the instant packages. except she made them PERFECT. she had a way of cooking them in our mini fridge/microwave combo to the point where they were JUST translucent but not overcooked. and oh my god, if i didn't love it. she would make my bowls of ramen until i ultimately forced her to show me how to do it because i was addicted.
to this day i'll be eternally grateful to her for teaching me to love ramen.
and now that i'm a food blogger who can't just post bowls of ramen noodles (although wouldn't that be an amazing food blog?) i knew i needed to do something to give my little LJ a culinary nod. a thank you of sorts.
this salad is for you bb. i hope you make it and enjoy it and reminisce about our 3 pm cuddles.
ANYWHO. for everyone else who isn't involved in this ramen love affair – LET ME HELP YOU OUT WITH WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE THIS. <- yes i'm shouting.
i'm going to tell you right now. the best part of this whole damn bowl is the dressing. it's embarrassingly easy, but SO good. like painfully good.
i swear by my love of pizza, i think red wine vinegar has super powers. it has this uncanny ability to add a sweetness to things without added sugar. and it's just bomb.
the sweetness perfectly balances out the harshness of some apple cider vinegar we're adding in for acidity. <- those things plus some grapeseed oil & the ramen seasoning and that's all she wrote.
we whisk together the oil, vinegars, and seasoning and then… HEAT IT UP. yup. we want it hot. so that when we pour it over our salad it sort of cooks it down JUST A LITTLE BIT.
we toss it all together and make sure everything gets a little bit of dressing on it and then we're gonna leave it alone.
it's so low maintenance. we literally just put it in the fridge until we're ready to eat it and BAM. it's perfect. ugh.
also – if you're making this for a party or something it's totally fine to make it the night before! (i actually think the flavors taste a little better on the second or third day – it just doesn't normally last that long in my fridge because i have a boyfriend who somehow finds it everytime) if you are making it ahead of time just make sure you toss it around a couple times and then again before you go to serve it!
TOPPINGS – the best part.
we only use half the package of ramen noodles in the actual salad – so i always save the leftover bits and use them to add some crunch on top of the salad.
i also loveeeee chia seeds on top and my lemon pepper chicken for protein to make it a full meal.
- 4 broccoli stems
- 2 medium carrots (i used one orange and one purple one for color!)
- 1 cup corn (this is approximate! if you're doing fresh – 2 ears OR 1 drained can!)
- 1/2 large red onion, minced
- 1 package of chicken flavored ramen noodles
- salt + pepper
- for the dressing
- 1/3 cup grapeseed oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 + 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- the seasoning packet from the ramen noodles!
- Take the broccoli stems and carrots and spiralize them (if you're using the inspiralizer, i used blade “C” for the broccoli and blade “D” for the carrots)! Put them in a bowl with the corn (cut it off the cob if you're using fresh or drain the can if you're using canned) and the minced red onion. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and mix all the vegetables together.
- Crush up the package of ramen noodles and pour half of the package into the bowl with the vegetables. Save the second half of crushed up noodles for topping the salad before serving.
- In a microwaveable bowl (I use my glass pyrex measuring cup) mix together the ingredients for the dressing. Microwave for 60 seconds and then whisk it all together again.
- Pour the dressing into the bowl over the vegetables and mix. I use a pair of oxo tongs to toss the noodles in the dressing for a few minutes.
- Cover the salad and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.
- We love to put our own toppings on as we go – we particularly love the extra dry ramen noodles, chia seeds, and chicken!
i'm not kidding though, this stuff flies out of the bowl. just make it already.
Make it? Lemme see it! Hashtag it: #thepikeplacekitchen
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