Egg-Topped Soba Noodles with Asparagus and Prosciutto

Hey guys.  Sorry for my brief hiatus from the blog.  I was out of town at a bridal shower and we had grand plans for cooking upon my return home last night, but after a 5 1/2 hour long bus ride (which usually takes about 4 hours), motivation was lacking.  So we ordered Indian.  But now that I am back I promise that I will come up with some new posts pronto - starting right now.  Get excited because we have some fun dishes planned for later in the week (Indian, Latin, etc.).  Well, I think they are fun but some of you might disagree.  I also have a guest post/recipe from Alex!  But more on that later in the week...

Anyway, I know that this sounds like a very random assortment of ingredients - eggs, asparagus, prosciutto, Parmesan cheese and soba noodles.  But somehow it works.  And it's not nearly as random as the Fatty Cue Brussels Sprouts I made a week ago.  I don't know why this recipe works.  I really can't think of what makes it work.  I guess it's not rocket science and it would probably work just as well with spaghetti rather than soba noodles, but I enjoyed the slightly nutty flavor and chewier texture of the soba noodles.  The recipe does call for a lot of pots and pans, but it comes together very quickly and is a perfect easy weeknight meal.  There is very little prep work and the entire dish goes from fridge to table in about 20 minutes.  So that is a huge argument in its favor.  It's not the most amazing pasta or soba dish, but it is solid.  As a side note, I prefer a regularly and gently cooked sunny-side up egg to the way this recipe calls for cooking the egg.  I felt like the whites cooked perfectly this way, but the yolk was just a hair past being property runny (where the yolks are sticky and gooey, rather than runny and saucy).

Recipe after the jump!

Chicken Soba Salad

The inspiration for this salad came from a salad that I love at a restaurant in NYC called Soba Nippon.  I have been there twice in the past month and every time I go I order this salad.  They top a salad of soba noodles, lettuce, cabbage, onions, carrots, dried seaweed, and crispy noodles with shredded, steamed chicken breast and this amazing Asian sesame dressing.  I like to pretend that the salad is totally healthy for me, but most salads are nowhere near as healthy as you think they are.  At the very least, the salad from Soba Nippon is delicious.  One of my favorite things about this salad is that it is both light and hearty at the same time.  One of the worst things about eating salad is that I get hungry again about an hour later.  Actually, I have the same problem with sushi.  But I feel like the soba noodles in this salad make the whole salad more filling without detracting from the lightness of the salad.  I knew we couldn't duplicate the salad exactly, but I figured we could put together a tasty and reasonably healthy facsimile.

This method for roasting chicken breasts is one of my absolute favorites (and Alex's too).  The chicken is so flavorful and juicy.  It would be delicious on top of any salad, or stuffed in any sandwich.  It makes this soba salad really sing.  All of the ingredients would be delicious on their own, but when combined they are delicious.  I think that some shelled edamame and/or some snow peas would also be delicious additions to the salad.  While this salad is not a perfect approximation of the one served at Soba Nippon, it sure was a really nice dinner.

Recipe after the jump!