This week’s recipe: Chilled soba noodle salad with roasted sesame, fresh asparagus, lightly smoked salmon trout

Chinese and Japanese friends have always told us that when their weather gets hot, they eat a comforting salad made with soba noodles. Lynne decided to try making one and this is the recipe she came up with. She bought the Salmon Trout at Woolworths, who always stock it. Soba noodles contain buckwheat, which is gluten free. If you are gluten intolerant, check that the packet you buy is 100% buckwheat. It is a great lunch dish.

1 piece of lightly smoked salmon trout, approx 250g -  3 or 4 thin slices of lemon - 2 teaspoons of butter - 2 T of sesame seeds - 9 or 10 fresh asparagus spears - 150 g dried soba noodles - ⅓ cup light soy sauce - 2 tbsp rice vinegar - 1 tbsp sesame oil - 1 tsp sugar - 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger - some green salad leaves

Lay the salmon trout fillet on a piece of foil more than twice its size. Place three [Lynne Ross Jarché] or four thin slices of lemon on top of it and three small knobs of butter then wrap into a loose but sealed parcel. Bake in a 180⁰C oven for no more than 10 minutes, remove and allow to cool. Tear into large flakes, leaving the skin behind and set aside. Cook the soba noodles in well salted boiling water till al dente, about 5 minutes, refresh in cold water, drain and allow to cool. In a very small heavy bottomed pan, lightly toast the sesame seeds until they change colour but do not burn. Remove any hard ends of the asparagus by snapping them off and steam for only one and a half minutes. You can also cook them on a ridged pan till just al dente. They do need to be a little crisp, not overcooked and mushy.

Mix up the Soy, rice vinegar and sesame oil, half the toasted sesame seeds , ginger and sugar in a small jar and shake well. Taste and adjust to your own taste. Pour over the soba noodles and allow to permeate.

Time to assemble: On a wide salad serving dish, place the washed and drained salad leaves. Pile the soba noodles and dressing in the centre, put on the asparagus spears and the flaked salmon trout. Sprinkle over the rest of the sesame seeds and serve.

We enjoyed it with a Rivergold Chenin blanc 2010 from Robertson