Rice Noodles with Cherry Tomatoes and Chili Oil

Pasta is the noodle of choice in my household, but my family loves a good rice or soba noodle dish at least once a week.   I began cooking more gluten-free noodles at home for myself and my daughter since we seem to have a slight intolerance to gluten.  This  dish combines a few Italian flavors with a few not-so-Italian flavors that I actually like to use regularly.  In addition, I love the cherry tomato/soy combination.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt plus more to taste 
• 12 ounces of wide rice noodles
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 Fresno chili or red jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 3 pints cherry tomatoes, halved if large
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• ½ cup of crushed pistachios (or other nuts, such as almonds or pine nuts)
• 3-4 basil leaves (If you prefer to “chef it up”, you will need an extra two sprigs of basil)
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for serving
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice noodles in a bowl of cold water to remove the extra starch. 
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
3. Add the noodles and allow to boil for about 4-5 minutes, so that the noodles are still al dente. The amount of time you allow them to boil will vary slightly by brand. When draining the noodles, reserve about 1/2 cup of the water.
4. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and stir gently until it’s soft and golden, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the sliced chili; cook and stir gently, until softened for about 1 minute.  
5. Add the cherry tomatoes, soy sauce, and ¼ cup of the hot noodle water and stir together for an additional minute.   
6. Add the drained noodles to the skillet, and toss to coat with the sauce.  Add the pistachios (or other nuts) and season with additional salt if needed. 
7. Turn off the heat and add freshly torn basil leaves.   
8. Serve in medium size deep bowls.  Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and if desired, black sesame seeds.

CHEF IT UP: To make this dish extra creamy and full of flavor (but without the soy sauce), remove basil leaves from two sprigs of basil and blanch them right before you start the dish.   Using a regular or immersion blender, mix the blanched basil leaves with ½ cup of cold water and ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil.  Add the mixture right after you cook the cherry tomatoes, disregard the soy sauce, and proceed with the remaining instructions.