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Saturday, August 1, 2009

Ramen Salad


When the heat outside it horrid, you don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen slaving over a steaming pot or a burning oven. A great dish to have that's not hot are cool pasta salads.
For this, I used ramen noodle. Isn't it great fifty cents a pack and you can create a whole meal out of it and it's not just soup.

I love pasta. I don't know where I would be without it. Along with cheese and maybe butter. Anyway, I had a tomato, cucumber and an avocado that I needed to use up. I didn't have lettuce to make a traditional salad, but then it occurred to me that salads don't necessarily mean a bowl of lettuce or a bunch of greens. So out came some ramen noodles and a cup of small shell pasta. The latter is optional. Chopped up the tomato and cucumber and I mixed them with a simple dijon vinaigrette and topped it off with a nice firm and ripe avocado that I marinated in some lemon juice to keep it from turning brown. This was really good. Perfect on a summer's evening. And I didn't slave away in the kitchen either. Really easy clean-up and a fulfilling meal. Yum!

Serves 2-3.





Ramen Salad

1 ramen pack (minus seasoning)
1 large heirloom tomato - diced
1 large cucumber - diced
1 ripe avocardo - diced
lemon juice
grated parmesan

Dijon Vinaigrette
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp dijon mustard

Toss the diced avocado in some lemon juice to keep it from turning brown. Set aside.

In a pot of boiling water, cook the ramen for rough 5-8 min. Strain and cool it down with cold water.

In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes and cucumbers. When the ramen in ready, add it into the tomato mixture.

Combine the ingredients of the vinaigrette in a separate bowl. Whisk together until blended. Drizzle over the pasta mixture and gently toss coating everything.

Top with some of the avocado.

24 comments:

Cucinista said...

Avocado + tomato + hot summer day = bliss!

Jamie said...

We were just talking about Ramen noodles. This salad is so wonderful and such a fab summer meal.

MaRyA said...

nice! I bet it will taste better with soumen and not ramen. nice idea. will do that. very timely for summer!

Donna-FFW said...

Jen- This looks lovely and yes, the perfect dinner with this heat. I must say I am going to try your viniagrette, it sounds simple and so tasty.

Denise said...

It has been so humid that this is a nice refreshing change..

Phyllis said...

LOL - I just had ramen yesterday too! This looks yummy and super simple. Great idea!

Anonymous said...

Anything with avocado I usually like. Great salad!

Miranda said...

Yum...
I actually have a crazy salad using ramen noodles that I am planning on making this wk.

This looks great. I love avocado.

Question:
I am going out of town on the 14th of August. I am not sure how it works, but would you like to guest blog?

Heather S-G said...

Sounds yummy!! And Ramen is only about 13-15 cents a pack around here, so even better :)

theUngourmet said...

Terrific idea for the ramen noodles! Anything quick and easy is great in the weather. I have a bunch of ramen. I should do this!

Anonymous said...

Never would have thought of using ramen noodles in this way. Very creative.
As an aside, I feel like I am like the only one who is not experiencing summer. It rained all day today... again.

Jenn said...

Cucinista: ;-)

Jamie: Coincidence. Probably.

MaryA: Go for it.

Donna: I love the vinaigrette!!!

Denise: Indeed.

Phyllis: Thanks. hehe...

Hummingbird: Thanks,

Miranda: Sure! I'd be honored.

Girlichef: Wow, that's way cheaper than over here.

Ungourmet: Yeah. It's a great substitute for pasta.

HH: Dreary weather is no good. You can still make this salad. Maybe it'll help you feel summery. ;-)

Lori Lynn said...

I've read elsewhere about using ramen in salad. Haven't tried it yet. Looks good!
LL

Anonymous said...

Isn't this so funny...I was just brainstorming ideas for college cooking and you come up with a dish using ramen, the quinessential college student food! lol! This is a keeper for my college days!

Laura said...

mmmmm I love ramen salad! gorgeous as usual!!

Jenn said...

LL: Give it a try. It's really good.

burpandslurp: Been there. I've got tons of ramen ideas. The possibilities are endless.

Laura: Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Ramen noodle salad is a great idea - I love that it's quick to prepare and all the summery flavors sound delicious!

OysterCulture said...

this looks quick and tasty!

Jenn said...

5 Star: Thanks.

Oyster Culture: It is.

Reeni said...

This is a great idea! Fresh and yummy!

Soma said...

Salad is what we are doing in this heat! nice quick idea.

Jenn said...

Reeni, soma: Thanks.

Tangled Noodle said...

Ooooh! This looks like it would be fantastic chilled, like a cold soba dish. I really like your dijon vinaigrette!

Jenn said...

Tangled: Thanks. ;-)

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