Editor’s Note: Sheila Lukins helped change the way America eats through her bestselling cookbooks. She is the co-author of The Silver Palate Cookbooks and The New Basics Cookbook, and author of Celebrate! The longtime food editor and columnist for Parade magazine, Ms. Lukins lives in New York City. Her newest cookbook is Ten: All the Foods We Love and 10 Perfect Recipes for Each.

These days, there are few things that are more uplifting for dinner than a bowl of noodles. Fast to make, healthful, stylish – and I somehow find an occasional slurp therapeutic in front of the oh-so-serious evening news, or along with a chilled glass of dry sake if I’m enjoying my favorite cold soba noodles with their zesty dipping sauce.

In Japan, soba noodles are eaten as a snack served in a slotted basket over ice. The buckwheat noodles are readily available in most supermarkets these days and in all Asian produce stores – so grab them up. Prepare the dipping sauce ahead of time because the noodles cook in six minutes. A baby spinach salad topped with sliced mushrooms and scallions is the perfect way to begin your meal.

As I travel and cook and taste different noodle dishes, from Japanese soba and udon to Italian spaghetti and penne to Chinese cellophane noodles, it seems that one always tastes better than the next. Then I’m off to create new recipes using these delicious noodles. As the seasons get warmer, we want our noodle dishes to be easier, lighter and, above all, economical. This made me think about a red and yellow bell-pepper favorite made ethereal with a dollop of fresh ricotta cheese.

A star pasta of mine from the Silver Palate days is Linguine with Tomato and Basil. Since we all eat lighter than we did in the ’80s, I’ve lightened the recipe, retaining the same knockout flavor and easy preparation (revised recipe below).

Once our farm stands and local farmers’ markets start overflowing, it will be easy as pie to chop up great vegetables and herbs and toss them over a variety of noodles. I happen to love a Salad Niçoise, and if I have any left over, I cook up some penne or rigatoni and toss the leftovers with the noodles — and have an instant Pasta Salad Niçoise. With noodles, the sky’s the limit!

Summer Soba Noodles with a Zesty Dipping Sauce

For the dipping sauce:

1/2 cup light soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted Asian sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped scallions (white bulbs and 3 inches of green)
1/4 cup pickled ginger, strained

For the noodles:

1 package (3 bunches) soba noodles

1. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl, stir in 2 tablespoons water and set it aside for the flavors to meld, 15 minutes.
2. When you are ready to serve, divide the sauce between two small bowls for dipping.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until al dente (just tender), about 6 minutes. 
4. Drain the noodles and rinse them thoroughly under cold water. Drain again well. Serve the cold noodles in shallow pasta bowls, with the dipping sauce on the side. Be sure to pick up some of the ginger and scallions with each bite of noodles.

Serves 2

Click here for Sheila Lukins’s recipe for Penne with Red and Yellow Peppers and Fresh Ricotta Cheese.

Sheila Lukins’s newest cookbook, Ten: All the Foods We Love and 10 Perfect Recipes for Each, is now available in bookstores.