GF Ben Ben Noodles

Gluten free noodles with crisped shiitake, pickled gherkins and greens, tossed in a tahini–soy–chilli–Chinkiang vinegar sauce. Punchy, savoury and spicy.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Place the mushrooms in a food processor and blitz to lentil-sized pieces (but be careful they don’t turn to soup). Put the peppercorns in a dry frying pan over a low flame and toast for around 4 minutes until fragrant, then grind with a pestle and mortar and set aside.

Step 2

In the same pan, heat the oil over a high flame. Add the mushrooms and fry for 8 to 10 minutes until dark brown and beginning to crisp, pressing into a single layer with the back of a spoon to maximize crisping potential. Add the gherkins, the spring onions and the ground Sichuan pepper, and fry for 2 minutes. Add the rice wine and soy sauce, and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes until dry and crunchy.

Step 3

To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. The sauce will look a little split at first, but just keep mixing until it comes together.

Step 4

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, stirring to separate the noodles and adding the greens for the final 2 minutes.

Step 5

Just before the noodles have finished cooking, fill a mug with the noodle cooking water. Drain the noodles and greens, place the greens to one side and the noodles in a bowl. Mix in the sauce and add the cooking water, tablespoon by tablespoon (I needed 6) until the noodles are nice and saucy.

Step 6

Divide between two plates, put the mushroom mixture on top and the greens to the side of each bowl.