Cold Summer Noodles with Venison

Cold Summer Noodles is a great field to table option for those who are harvesting their own meat and growing a lot of their own seasonal produce. The salad itself is cool and refreshing, plus it's versatile for any ingredients. Add what you have in your refrigerator or what's exploding in your garden that week - it'll be delicious covered in this dressing. I love this recipe in the summer when it's too hot to cook inside. I'll trade a lot of chopping for not having to turn my stove on in the middle of summer any day of the week. Customize the salad with whatever you like or whatever sounds good that day - every time you make it, it can be a new meal by mixing up the protein source or vegetable pairings. Enjoy!

Tangy Tahini Dressing

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1½ teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated peeled ginger (about 1 inch)
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (more depending on spice preference)
• Salt to taste
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Cooking Instructions

1. Add dressing ingredients to a small bowl and combine with immersion blender or whisk.
2. Gradually add vegetable oil and sesame oil, blending constantly to emulsify.

Can be made 1 day ahead.

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Venison Marinade

• ½ cup neutral oil
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon finely grated peeled ginger (about 1 inch)

On meat:

• furikake or toasted sesame seeds with salt - I personally love the Alaskan Furikake made by Barnacle Foods because it's made with wild-harvested bull kelp!

Cooking Instructions

1. Combine ingredients and marinate meat for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Before cooking, remove meat from marinade and pat dry.
3. Sprinkle generously with furikake and pat to stick to meat.
4. Grill or pan fry to preference, ideally medium rare.

Cold Summer Noodle Salad

Ingredients

• 8-16 oz thin noodles, your choice. I used fresh ramen noodles, but you can choose any you like such as yakisoba, dried ramen or spaghetti. Do not use the flavor packet when using Asian noodles
• 12 oz thinly sliced venison, cooked to your preference
• 1/2 Napa cabbage, thinly sliced (around 2 cups)
• 1 bell pepper, any colors, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, grated
• 12 oz bean spouts
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ¼ cup crushed salted, roasted peanuts
• kimchi and furikake to taste

Other ingredient ideas: any other greens, broccoli slaw, red onion, jicama, kohlrabi, zucchini, snap peas, shallots - pretty much anything you can thinly slice. When adding more ingredients, remember to increase the amount of Tangy Tahini Dressing you make to coat everything thoroughly.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Cook noodles according to package instructions until al dente.
2. Drain and rinse under cold water.
3. Add noodles, venison and all vegetables to a bowl.
4. Add dressing and mix well. 
5. Top with green onions, cilantro and peanuts.
6. Add kimchi and furikake if desired.