Soba noodle salad with coconut dressing

Last year, my employer invited a nutritionist to give talks on what to eat in order to stay healthy during the colder months, hoping, of course, that less people would have to call in sick. A clever little plot, somewhat less radical and obvious than the free flu jab. There was a lot of talk about vitamins, minerals, free radicals and their friends and relations. Very interesting but not much has stuck, to be honest. And after reading "In the Defence of Food: an Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan, I'm not sure it even matters. I thought the greatest tip we got was to make your plate as colourful as possible as, apparently, a variety of colours (vegetables and fruit, not gummy bears) pretty much equals a variety of nutrients. Nutritional value aside, it looks and tastes great. If all the lectures on vitamins, good fats and bad fats definitely turn out to be complete bogus, you at least had a lovely meal. What more could you ask for? Get that chopping board out!

Soba noodle salad with coconut dressing (serves 2)

• 160g soba noodles
• 1 scallion, white part finely chopped
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 1/4 head red cabbage, very finely chopped
• 1 small handfull sprouts (rocket, onion, alfalfa)
• 6 radishes, quartered
• 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• a dash of soy sauce and lemon juice

Cook the soba noodles until soft. Drain, refresh under cold water and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a wok or a large frying pan. Stir fry the onions and carrots for one minute, then add the zucchini and cook for another minute. Add the cabbage and toss. Remove from the heat and put the vegetables into a bowl. Let cool slightly. Add the cold noodles, sprouts, radishes and tomatoes. Stir the coconut milk, sweet chili sauce and sesame oil together and season to taste with soy sauce and lemon juice. Pour over the noodles and vegetables and toss until everything is evenly coated.

I had some grilled paneer with it. Tofu would be nice, too and more "authentic".