Spring has officially sprung! Well...tomorrow anyway. We get all four seasons really beautifully in Wisconsin. It's one of many things we LOVE about our home state. And while the forecast for tomorrow doesn't include sunny skies or warm winds, we're hopeful the day is near.

One of our other very favorite things is black garlic. Surprised?! The thing about black garlic is that it goes with every season. There are some amazing winter recipes using our favorite little unique ingredient (i.e. Roasted Butternut Squash dishes, Beef, Ale and Black Garlic Pie and the like). But in honor of spring, we thought we'd go in a bit of a different direction today.

This recipe is the perfect combination of hearty and fresh. The flavor combination excites and thrills us and while we understand that we're particularly nerdy about food, we hope it does the same for you. So for those of you that have the sun tomorrow, soak it up for us! And enjoy this tasty recipe courtesy of A Profound Hatred of Meat blog.

Serves 3

INGREDIENTS

• udon noodles for 3

• 2 tbl coconut or canola oil

• 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

• 1 head radicchio, cored, thinly sliced

• salt, to taste

• 5 black garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1 golden beet, peeled

• 1/2 bunch scallions, green parts only, roughly chopped

• 3 tbl roughly chopped fresh cilantro

• 2 tbl roughly chopped fresh basil

• 1 tbl sesame seeds

dressing:

• 3 tbl tamari

• 1 1/2 tbl mirin

• 1 1/2 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce

• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Directions

1. Cook the udon noodles according to your package directions.

2. While the noodles are cooking, saute the red bell pepper and radicchio in coconut oil over medium heat for 7 minutes until the radicchio has wilted and the bell pepper is tender. Season lightly with salt. Add the garlic and toast 2-3 minutes more.

3. Drain the pasta and add to the sauteed vegetables. Toss to combine and add the dressing ingredients. Toss once more to coat the pasta.

4. Plate up the pasta and use a vegetable peeler to shave off thin slices of beets on top. Garnish with scallions, cilantro, basil and sesame seeds.