I found two long (3 1/2 foot each) gobo, burdock, left in my kitchen which I purchased toward the end of last year. I planned to make one more Osechi ryori dish, tataki gobo, but I abandoned the idea. It was too much.
One of the most popular burdock dish is kinpira gobo, whose recipe you can find it in my The Japanese Kitchen. Instead of making this homey traditional Japanese dish, I decided to make something with Western flavors. Here is burdock pasta. I have shredded the burdock with a vegetable peeler into thin and long slices. I parboiled them in the water for about 2 minutes. I cooked the drained burdock in plenty of olive oil (I infused the oil with salt pickled anchovy) with some garlic and chile pepper flakes. I served the burdock pasta with a sausage. The crunchy texture and earthy flavor of the burdock was perfect accompany for the sausage.
Burdock is rich in dietary fibers. It helps to reduce blood cholesterol and prevents constipation. Eating good food nurishes our body. Eating bad food makes us sick. We call it Ishoku Dogen. 
