The moment I open the door to the air-conditioned room and step inside, I raise my head and stand in front of the wind, trying to absorb the cool air into my entire body. I let the sweat settle and boil some cold somen noodles for lunch. This kind of holiday is like a routine during a humid Japanese summer.
Every year, I have come up with many recipe variations for somen noodles. However, I have only been changing the soup, not the noodles themselves.
So, I'd like to introduce you to a recipe that will completely change up your regular noodle soup base.
Listen to the podcast to find out how
First, grate the lemon peel. The recipe calls for half a lemon, but it's also delicious if you use a whole lemon. Julienne the basil and crush the pine nuts in a mortar and pestle.
Grate the washed lemon using a grater. If you don't have a grater, you can also peel the lemon thinly with a knife and chop it finely. Try to chop it as finely as possible so as not to affect the texture of the somen noodles. 
If you shred the basil, it will mix well with the noodles. However, if you don't want to bother, you can just tear it up with your hands and serve it. Decide how much you want to eat that day depending on how motivated you are. 
Pine nuts, a Chinese ingredient, are ground in a mortar and pestle. They tend to produce oil, which adds a rich flavor to the refreshing somen noodles.
Boil the somen noodles and rinse them in cold water. Skip this step and the firmness and crispness will change, so be sure to cool them thoroughly. They should be so cold that your hands hurt when you put them in the ice water.
Boil the somen noodles for the specified cooking time. If you want to enjoy them to the fullest, we recommend choosing somen noodles that are a little more expensive. 
Once the noodles are boiled, they are first washed by kneading them to remove the starch from the surface.Then, the most important step is to chill them.They are cooled in ice water until your hands start to hurt, and then left to sit for 1-2 minutes.
Drain the water and place in a serving dish.
Garnish with basil, pine nuts, and grated lemon peel, grate some black pepper, add plenty of lemon juice, and drizzle with olive oil to finish.
Dip the scooped up some somen noodles into your usual noodle soup and slurp them down.
Your mouth is greeted by the summer aroma of lemon, basil, and olive oil, along with the delicious flavor of the noodle soup.
With the refreshing aroma still lingering at my nose, I took a sip of the slightly sparkling rosé wine, and a different, sweet and sour summer scent spread through my mouth, accompanied by a fizzing sound.
I would definitely recommend trying it out in the second half of summer.
Olive oil lemon basil somen noodles and slightly sparkling rosé wine
Ingredients (for 2 people)
・Somen noodles...3 bundles
・Lemon...1/2
・Olive oil...1 and 1/2 tablespoons
・Basil...10 leaves
・Pine nuts...2 tablespoons
・Black pepper...appropriate amount
・Mentsuyu (noodle soup base)...appropriate amount
How to make it
1. Grate the lemon peel, shred the basil, and mash the pine nuts.
② Boil the somen noodles and rinse with cold water.
3. Place in a bowl, top with basil, pine nuts and lemon zest, sprinkle with black pepper, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil, and serve with noodle soup base.
The drink paired with this dish is Kyoto Tamba Wine's "Tegumi Petit Rosé." It's a sparkling rosé wine made with domestic grapes. It has a dry, refreshing, and light taste. It comes in a 500ml bottle, making it easy to finish. A 750ml bottle is also available. Alcohol content: 11%, price: 1,320 yen (according to the editorial department) / Kyoto Tamba Wine
