Here’s a summer dish that really sings; earthy wholesome buckwheat noodles mixed with spunky Asian flavours to produce a fresh, vibrant salad with an explosive taste. In fact, it looked so good in the bowl, I decided to use it as lead shot on my home page. Believe me – it tastes as good as it looks.

Noodles are the ultimate fast food. They are cheap, quick to cook and fun to eat. Unfortunately, most commercial noodles are highly refined and processed. Look instead for authentic Asian noodles made by artisan noodle-makers, which come fresh or dried in hundreds of varieties. Soba noodles are one of my favorites. They are wholesome Japanese noodles made using the flour ground from buckwheat. I use them a lot in my cooking because they have such a distinctive flavour and texture.

Buckwheat and wheat actually come from two entirely different plant families. Buckwheat is actually a fruit seed, and when the noodles are produced without the use of wheat flour, they will be naturally gluten free. This is great news for people with celiacs disease or gluten allergies.

I am in China at the moment and mangoes are a dime a dozen. At home, mangoes are an exotic fruit that knock up a lot of food miles. Juicy, ripe peaches are a perfect substitute and pretty soon they will be in-season in the UK. Look for local peaches, as imported ones as don’t stand up nearly as well. As with most salads, this is best put together just before you eat it, so everything retains its ‘zing’.

Asian Buckwheat Noodle Salad

1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely chopped (about a thumb-sized piece)
1 medium sized cucumber, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely diced
Strange Wilderness buy
3-4 sticks of celery – with the leaves (approx 150g), cut into 1cm pieces
1-2 large red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
150g mango or peach flesh, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons spring onions, finely chopped
1 packet organic Soba (buckwheat) noodles (around 150g)
75g cashew nuts, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon unrefined toasted sesame oil
The juice from one small lime
2 teaspoons artisan fish sauce

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain the noodles under cold water to stop the cooking, and leave to one side.

Make the dressing by mixing the ginger, garlic, chillies, sesame oil, fish sauce and lime juice in a small bowl. Taste and season with a little more fish sauce or lime juice, if needed.

Place the prepared mango, cashews, coriander, spring onion, red pepper, cucumber and celery in a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked noodles, and then gently mix through the dressing. Taste and season with a little more fish sauce or lime juice, if it needs it. Serve it immediately.

You can substitute the soba noodles with other wholegrain varieties. I sometimes add shredded boiled chicken into this salad, or cubes of tofu.