Raw Pad Thai

This Pad Thai is made up of three simple recipes: noodle salad, sauce, and garnish. The secret to its success is the thick zucchini noodles. Made with a vegetable peeler, they are similar to thick, flat rice noodles. They stand out beautifully and hold the sauce well.

Noodle Salad
4 medium zuczhini
2 large carrots
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts

Peel the zucchini, then shave the flesh into thick strips with a vegetable peeler or use a spiralizer to make wide noodles. Cut the carrots into thin matchsticks (julienne) with either a mandoline or sharp knife. Combine the zucchini, carrots, cilantro, and bean sprouts in a bowl and toss together.
Pad Thai Sauce
2 cups raw almond butter
2 oranges, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 lime, juiced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 pitted soft dates
2 Tbs grated fresh ginger
2 tsp sea salt
1 small hot red chile, minced or 2 tsp crushed dried chiles (optional)

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. If necessary, add a small amount of water to facilitate blending. The sauce should be thick. Add the sauce to the noodle salad and mix well.

Garnish
4 green onions, chopped
4 Tbs chopped Thai basil or other type of fresh basil
10-12 wedges fresh lime
8 raw almonds, chopped

Sprinkle the green onions, basil, lime wedges and almonds over the salad just before serving. (I arranged them symetrically :-)

From "Raw Food Celebrations" by Nomi Shannon and Sheryl Duruz