Snow Pea Sesame Noodle Salad

*My recipe was featured on www.meatlessmondays.com. See it here

This noodle salad is an excellent dish to bring to a party.

Snow Pea Sesame Noodle Salad

• 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 pound snow pea pods
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 3 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted
• 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
• 4 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add snow pea pods and cook 1-2 minutes, until crisp tender. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and place in an ice bath to stop from cooking any further and to maintain a bright green color. Bring water to boil again and add spaghetti. Cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Whisk together the vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and peanut butter in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, combine the spaghetti, snow peas, peppers and scallions in a large bowl. Bit by bit, toss in the dressing over to the spaghetti mixture until you are satisfied with the result. You probably will not need to add all of the dressing.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and the parsley and toss together.