With its lovely dressing, this delicious Japanese noodle dish is rich and satisfying without being overfilling, going beautifully with some wakame seaweed salad. It’s worth making enough for 4 people as it is great for lunch the next day. It works best when the vegetables are cut to different thicknesses to enhance the crunch factor

165g buckwheat soba noodles

110g green beans, topped and tailed and cut in half

3 spring onions, very finely chopped

1 medium carrot, either cut into skinny batons or spiralised

½ cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, halved and cut into 5mm thick slices

Dressing:-

2 tbspns tahini

2 tbspns mirin

3.5 tbspns dark soy sauce

1.5 tbspns rice vinegar

1 tbspns chopped chives

1.5 tbspns water

To serve:-

Black sesame seeds

Wakame seaweed

• Cook the noodles for 4-5 minutes in salted boiling water until just al dente. Refresh under cold running water, then allow to drain well for a couple of minutes

• Meanwhile cook the beans for 3-4 minutes until just cooked. Refresh under cold running water, then allow to drain well for a couple of minutes

• Combine the dressing ingredients and blitz well to make a smooth thin paste

• Put the veg and noodles in a large bowl. Coat with the dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds, and put a pinch of wakame on top. Serve immediately