The Summeriest Cold Noodle Salad

To me, a cold noodle salad is one of the best summertime foods. It’s a blank canvas for whatever you have in your crisper. I am the first to admit that I scroll on Instagram way too much, and I have a number of folders where I save things. Most of them I never revisit, but the biggest one, and the one I do return to now and then, is one called “Recipes to Try.” When I saw Nick Curtola, the chef of the Michelin-starred and impossible-to-get-into restaurant, The Four Horsemen, in Brooklyn, throw together the salad that inspired this one in his laid-back and deft way, I knew I’d be making it ASAP. He posted it during a heat wave, and he called it a soup, finishing it off with lots of crushed ice, which would presumably melt and transform the salad into a cold noodle soup.

First, I should tell you that I have not (yet) been able to snag a reservation at The Four Horsemen, but I have tried, and will try again someday. In the meantime, I will continue to follow Nick on Instagram for a dose of inspiration. His cooking style and skill level are something I aspire to, and I hope to someday taste his food IRL. If any of you have an “IN,” please let me know!

Since Nick didn’t actually share a recipe, I watched the video several times until I was ready to reverse-engineer it into something both you and I could make. One of the clever things about the recipe that caught my eye was that he cooked the cabbage along with the shrimp. They cook in about the same amount of time, and if you buy cleaned shrimp, the whole process is really easy.

I love adding napa cabbage to a noodle salad, as it bulks it up and adds flavor and texture (and vegetables!), but I usually add it raw and let it wilt, which could lead to a watery salad. Blanching it eliminated that possibility. Although Chef Nick was trying to add water to make a soup, I decided I was more into a salad, without the extra water. That said, I do love the idea of adding crushed ice to serve this on a very hot day.

I also took the liberty of adding some peanut butter to the dressing for extra flavor and to thicken it a bit, and to echo that, garnished the dish with crushed peanuts. This is the kind of dish where you can do YOU.

And in case you missed it, I’m giving away an e-book with four new cookie recipes you won’t find anywhere else. Just fill out this form to submit your proof of purchase, and you’ll instantly receive the e-book so you can start baking today!

Preorder a Signed Copy

This is another craveable cold noodle salad, this time inspired by my love of buckwheat. I love using crisp sugar snap peas here (cut lengthwise, which helps them soak up the dressing), but this is a great canvas for any green vegetable you have on hand.

Pan Bagnat (pā ba’na) has been a longtime favorite of mine. Imagine allll of the Mediterranean flavors packed into a single baguette or a roll and then left to marinate until you’re ready to eat it at home or take it along wherever you’re going.

We’re entering peak watermelon and tomato season, and while both are perfect eaten on their own, sometimes you want something a little more elevated that still takes advantage of the juicy, fresh, luscious qualities that these two symbols of summer embody. If that’s the case, this salad fits the bill!