Allow the unique long strands of the spaghetti squash to do the hard work for you and take your salad presentation skills to the next level by not doing much at all. Umami, earthy and nutty, this recipe falls under the satisfying vegan salad category.
Cut the spaghetti squash crossways about 2 cm wide. With 1 tbsp of olive oil, coat the spaghetti squash all around. Use the remaining olive oil to baste the sheet pan lightly.Place it in the oven for 20 minutes, then turn over the spaghetti squash and roast for another 20 minutes.Remove and set aside to cool for 15 minutes.Then gently remove the outer skin and, using your fingers, pry the strands apart.
Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus. Lay flat on a chopping board, and with a wide peeler, shave the asparagus from the stem to the spear. Continue until you can’t shave anymore.
Salad Dressing
Place the roasted sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle. Give it a short grind, not too much that it turns into a paste.
Add the rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar and mirin.
Stir until well combined.
Assembly
In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the spaghetti squash and cashews. Add ¾ of roasted sesame dressing and toss until well combined.
On a long oval platter, place the asparagus ribbons down the centre, the length of the platter.
Add the spaghetti squash and cashews on top.
Sprinkle 1 tsp of roasted sesame on top.
Drizzle the rest of the dressing on the side of the plate.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve.
Video
Notes
Spaghetti squash sure is one-of-a-kind vegetables, but you can certainly make “spaghetti” out of zucchini, carrots, butternut squash, beetroot, cucumber or kohlrabi. You can choose to eat it raw or give it a quick blanch to soften the crunchier vegetables.
Much like using a spiraliser to make noodles out of vegetables, the same applies to making ribbons out of vegetables. You can try parsnip, carrot, fennel and turnip as possible substitutes for asparagus.
The famous Kewpie roasted sesame dressing will be perfect for this salad if you don’t want to make your own. The Kewpie version, however, is creamy, while this homemade salad dressing is not.
You can replace soy sauce with tamari for a gluten free recipe.
If you don’t have mirin, you can use sake or omit it altogether.
If you’d like to give an extra oomph, grate 1 tsp of fresh ginger and add to the salad dressing.
If you only have unroasted sesame seeds, give them a quick toss on a dry fry pan until golden brown. The same applies to the cashews.