Soumen primavera

I can’t believe that yesterday I was preparing soumen with spring vegetables and that today I dream of a hor rich soup. Yesterday was spring today is winter! Anyway, spring is just to arrive for sure soon, so a little spring recipe is always good, in particular when it’s that simple and tasty. I have received soumen-素麺, thin wheat noodles from a colleague and I prepared them in my primavera style: tons of greens, fried tofu, a little bit of soya sauce. That’s it!

I used fava beans (blanched), asparagus (blanched), cucumber and fresh chopped coriander. Thick fried tofu heated in a pan and a few mm of water to remove some of the oil. And the simply boiled soumen. For the dressing soya sauce cut with dashi or water. Have a nice weekend!

March 31, 2017

Sakura rice

The other day I was so happy with cherry blossom rice in my bento that I couldn’t help trying to make some. It’s just the right season for it, cherry trees start to bloom, though it seems they are rather late this year. Making sakura rice is very simple. You need only four ingredients: white Japanese rice, soya sauce, some fresh greens: spinach or canola, and some salt preserved sakura flowers. In Japan it is very easy to find them in little bins in supermarkets, in small boxes or packs at the farmers market. Wash the greens, and blanche them. Slightly and delicately rinse of the sakura flowers. In a pan or rice cooker add the rice and about 5 to 10 flowers. Add a tbs of soya sauce. Cook your rice as usual. Cut the greens in 1.5 cm pieces. Add to the rice when cooked and stir. Add a salted flower for decoration. That’s it!

March 29, 2017

To Osaka!

En route to Osaka for for a few days! Which means no cooking and fewer posts from me. What I love with traveling in Japan by train, is this habit that people have to eat on the train. Eating on the train is part of the journey and at the station finding the lunch box (bento-弁当) that you would like to eat is whole part of it. At Tokyo station you have plenty of options. If you commute by train there is a nice underground bento shopping district. If you arrive directly to the station by bus or taxi I recommend the underground floor pf Daimaru, which offers serious eating options. Plan a good 15 to 30 minutes to browse all the different shops! Today I had a crush for sakura rice and it was a very goodd choice. Something I will try to cook at home too. See you in a few days!

March 26, 2017

New potatoes omelette

For the first time in a week my head didn’t spin and seeing the world so still is quite strange now! I kind of got use to living in a spinning boat and adjusted to it. My appetite is coming back too! But I still prefer to eat simple food. So I made a new potatoes omelette. Some kind of comfort food. I just used two new potatoes washed and brushed that I cut in small cubes and cooked in olive oil until golden, then added 4 eggs beaten with black pepper and salt and cooked under cover. I flipped the omelette when the top is almost dry and cooked a little longer before cutting and serving. Really nothing amazing about that recipe bit honestly delicious.

March 25, 2017

Spring in the plate!

It’s getting warmer, out the winter coats! And the spring vegetables are everywhere on the market shelves! I couldn’t resist to preparing the first spring vegetables sautéed of the year. A classic in our house that can accompany fish, meat, tofu, eggs, or just be eaten like that. Choose the spring vegetables of your choice: new potatoes, asparagus, green peas, snap peas, new carrot today for me, but you can add new onion, green beans… a bit of olive oil in a pan and start to cook the potatoes, then the carrots, the green peas, finish the asparagus hardest part and later the heads and the snap peas. Add kosher salt and pepper and serve!

March 23, 2017

Recovery food

As I was telling you on Monday, I was pretty down with pollen allergy and vertigos. I am very rarely feeling bad so I am not used to it and it annoys me a lot to be reduced in any of my activities. Because of the vertigos I could only eat industrial butter rolls, the one sold in all the combinis, and drink coca-cola. What a diet for me!!! So as soon as thing got better I prepared a very simple recovery recipe with fresh vegetables and little star pasta. I prepared two versions of it, a dry one and a soup one. In the dry version I use 1 new carrot and a bundle of mizuna, a bit of olive oil, that’s it. I cooked it until all the water was gone. In the soup version I added 2 little sweet potatoes, a few snap peas and curcuma. Very easy to prepare, very easy to eat! A perfect dish to recover!

March 23, 2017

Kumquat and mackerel pasta

This recipe is inspired by my Sicilian cookbook and I wanted to make it auite sometime ago but I couldn’t find the proper fresh fish. Not the right season. But I finally got it!!! The recipe works with anchovies, sardines or little mackerels (what I got). I used fish prepared for sashimi so it’s very easy to make. The original recipe used some chapelure (dry bread crumbs, or panko) but instead I used hazelnut powder. The spinach and pasta are my addition too.

Kumquat and makerel rolls:

– 5 to 10 anchovies, sardines or little mackerels (鯵-アジ) depending on the size

– 10 wooden toothpicks

– 4 tbs of hazelnut powder

– olive oil for the cooking

Wash the kumquats and cut the stem and bottom. Wash and prepare the fish in filets. Roll the filets around the kumquats and fix with a toothpick. Depending on the size of the filets you may need 1 or 2 to wrap the whole fruit. Put the hazelnut powder in a small dish and roll the fish in. In a heated and olive oil greased frypan cook until almost golden. Serve like this, or as I did with pasta, spinach…

March 21, 2017

Spinach-chicken ravioli

It is spring today and I am down with very strong pollen allergy, my head is spinning, my eyes are itching and I almost couldn’t move this morning. But I am talking at a public event and I hate to cancel my interventions, let people down. So A. has helped me take my things together, prepared breakfast, drove me to where I work today. Without him I’ll still be lying on the sofa. Now I’m getting ready. It’s going to be a tough afternoon but I’m gonna try! Well, while I wasn’t yet dying with pollen allergy I made some little ravioli. Same pasta asusual, with a filling of spinach and chicken. I wanted some cod or salmon but nothing that really attracted me at the supermarket so it ended being chicken. I cooked the chicken, the spinach and a tablespoon of cream cheese. Then filled the ravioli and served with olive oil. Super delicious!

March 20, 2017

Green chahan

Lunch is all like the weather today! Sunny, warm and nice! With tones of fresh greens: mizuna, spinach, snap peas; sesame and tofu and freshly cooked rice. It is so simple to make that even shooting a video of it was easy and quick! So today the recipe is in the movie! Enjoy your Sunday!!!

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March 19, 2017