Sesame Peanut noodles

As soon I saw these Chinese noodlesI thought that they would be perfect picnic food as we tend to go to picnics with my husband's family and they are mostly vegetarian. I bought these colourful Chinese noodle boxes which seemed to grace every cocktail party and BBQ for a while and they sat forgotten in my cupboard for ages before I decided that they would do the job here. Instead of ready made egg noodles , I used rice noodles which are just as easy to use. All they need is 60-90 seconds in the microwave and they're ready to pour the sauce over.

The sauce is fairly rich but flavoursome and mine were a lot darker brown than the ones in Nigella Express. However there was much contented murmuring from my husband when he tried these. Which is good, because they're so ridiculously easy to make, he could make them for dinner!

Sesame Peanut noodles from Nigella Express

For the dressing:

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon garlic infused oil

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

• 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

For the salad:

• 4 ounces/1 1/2 cups mange-tout (snow peas)

• 2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed

• 1 red pepper, seeded and cut into small strips

• 2 spring onions, finely sliced

• 2x 275g packets or 500g ready prepared egg noodles

• 20g sesame seeds

• 4 x 15freshly chopped coriander leaves or 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Step 1 - Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl or jug.

Step 2 - Put the mange-tout, bean sprouts, sliced red pepper, sliced scallions and noodles into a bowl.

Step 3 - Pour over the dressing and mix thoroughly to coat everything well.

Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and coriander/cilantro and pack up as needed.

Recipe by Nigella Lawson from Nigella Express

Variation: Slice up some spicy tofu-Nutrisoy make a great Spicy tofu burger which can be cut up and added to the noodles.