Recipe - Spicy Nectarine & Herb Noodle Salad

For hot summer days & nights...

This lush salad features nuoc cham, a Vietnamese-style spicy dressing that provides a wonderful contrast to juicy nectarines.

Ingredients

• 200g pack rice vermicelli

• 1 tsp Vegetable oil

• 4 Golden Blush Nectarines, cut into slim wedges

• ½ small Chinese leaf cabbage (about 250g), finely shredded

• ½ ridged cucumber, halved, deseeded and finely sliced

• 1 large echalion shallot, finely sliced

• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

• 75g roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped

• 20g pack Thai basil, leaves torn

• 25g pack mint, leaves picked

Nuoc Cham

• 4 tbsp fish sauce

• 2 limes, juice

• 4 tbsp rice vinegar

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, grated

Method

1. For the nuoc cham, in a small bowl stir the ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved; set aside. Boil a kettle. Put the noodles in a heatproof bowl, then cover with just-boiled water. Soak for 6-8 minutes, until tender. Drain, refresh under cold running water, then drain again. Tip back into the bowl and toss with the oil.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the noodle bowl with the nuoc cham; toss, then transfer to plates or a platter.

Recipe courtesy of Waitrose.Com