Broccolini, Cherry Tomato, and Butter Bean Udon

I asked my twitter friends whether they’d like to see recipes made for one, and the response was overwhelming; absolutely. A lot of you seem to manufacture lunch for yourself, or have several weeknights where you’re cooking solo and want to throw something fresh together without a lot of hassel.

When I know I’m going to be eating alone, I rarely do the logical thing and manufacture a big batch of something so I can have leftovers. I’m terrible with leftovers. I’m too fickle when it comes to food, so leftovers turn to science projects in the fridge. Therefore I tend to manufacture a lot of one-off meals based on whatever odds and ends of produce I have left.

So here’s one of them. I had one serving broccolini, and half a pint of cherry tomatoes. Not adequate of either to feed both me and my husband, so I made one little but delicious meal out of it. whether you’re not cooking for one, that dish is easy to scale up, so don’t anguish. But my friends who dine independently? that one is particularly for you!

Annnd, how about a video? Here’s the whole meal, start to finish, in two minutes. A little overview, whether you will. There’s nothing difficult about that recipe, so that is more for fun than anything. You can watch the whole video in HD, full-screen, even!

Watch that video on Vimeo instead.

Broccolini, Cherry Tomato and Butter Bean Udon
Serves One

1 to 1 1/2 Bundles Udon Noodles
Oil, about 2-3 Tbs
3-6 Stalks of Broccolini, depending on size
1/2 tsp Red Pepepr Flakes
Black Pepper
Salt
10 Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
1/2 Cup Butter Beans/Lima Beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 tsp Italian Herbs
Balsamic Vinegar,

for drizzling

Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add udon noodles and cook for four minutes (or as expanded as package directions dictate), soon after drain and rinse well. Coat lightly with oil to prevent noodles from sticking. I use spray oil for that, I think it’s the easiest and you use the least amount of oil. Set noodles aside.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet by medium high with a little oil. Add broccolini and coat with oil. Season with 1 big pinch of salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Once the broccolini starts to turn bright green and get a little color (just a minute or two), push them to the edge of the pan.

Turn heat up a little and add quartered cherry tomatoes. Stir to coat in any oil/spices leftover from the broccolini, next let cook, untouched, to get a little color and soften up, 1-2 minutes. Once tomatoes are softened, add 1/2 cup of butter beans. Stir everything together and remove to a bowl.

In the still-hot pan, add a 1-2 Tbs more oil. Add cooked udon noodles to the hot pan, seasoning with a pinch of salt and italian herbs. Toss to coat the pasta. Once the pasta is coated and is heated through, add back the broccolini, beans, and tomatoes. Taste and season with more salt or pepper whether needed.

Plate, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar whether desired.

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