Month: July 2018

Caponata

When you are super pleased to invent a new recipe that looks like delicious… and talk about it over the phone with your mom and she tells you that your brilliant idea not only already exists but is actually a classic Sicilian recipe!!! I must have Italian blood at some point!!!!

Anyway, this brilliant and delicious summer recipe is caponata! Serve with giant pasta and a bit of salad on the side. Here is my recipe.

Caponata (for 2 people)

– 3 Japanese eggplants

– 1 branch of celery

– 1tsp of capers

– olive oil

– 1tsp of vinegar

Dice in small cubes the eggplants. In a pan heated with olive oil cooked them at medium to high heat until golden. Stir often. Wash and dice the celery, up to the leaves. Add to the eggplants. Cook for 5-10 min at medium heat. Add the capers, and finish with the vinegar. Eat like that or with pasta as presented in the picture. Also good with grated Parmigiano.

Wafu pasta

The way of preparing pasta is unlimited and using Japanese ingredients with pasta may be really strange at first but it is not at all so strange in the end, it’s actually rather good. They are called wafu pasta (和風パスタ) and are actually quite common in Japan, they are regular pasta (most often spaghetti) with a dressing that uses Japanese typical ingredients such as meitaiko, nori… At first I didn’t like this mix too much, probably because it is often served in old not so nice cafe places, but I slowly got used to the idea and actually now enjoy preparing some.

I prepared a summer wafu pasta recipe with crushed edamame, jute mallow and tomatoes with olive oil. It is so simple but so fresh and summer like that I’m thinking I will prepare more wafu pasta in the future!

In the mean a typhoon is coming to Tokyo, keep dry and safe and have a nice weekend!

Spicy tomato sauce

While in Nasu we discovered a nice little restaurant called Cu-eri which is run by a couple of Japanese chefs, one of them trained in France. Their cuisine uses local ingredients in French inspired recipes and even some classic recipes very well realized. One thing that I really enjoyed was the way they used soft spices in their cuisine, particularly paprika and cinnamon, and it really inspired me to add some in my cooking. The first thing I tried was a soft spices tomato sauce to eat with plain polenta, grilled eggplants and cumin chickpeas and chicken balls. Here is the recipe of my tomato sauce.

Spicy tomato sauce (for a small dip quantity)

– 3 big fresh ripen tomatoes

– cinnamon grounded

– nutmeg

– chai spice

Wash and peel the tomatoes. In a pan put the tomatoes roughly diced, add the cinnamon and the nutmeg to your liking. In my case I put 1tbs well packed of cinnamon and 1/2tsp of nutmeg. Cook at low heat under cover until the juice of the tomatoes has almost dried off, the slower the better to have the spice infused and the sweetness of the tomatoes enhanced. A few minutes before finishing cooking add a pinch of chai spice.

Serve with what pleases you. It was perfect for accompanying polenta!

Away from the heat

I am quite ok with the heat in the summer, I move slowly, plan things ahead to never have to run, carry water with me and dress lightly. And if I can swim it’s perfect. I guess my body is also used to it from growing in the South of France. But little Parisian A. is more affected. So we decided to drive north a bit in the Nasu area and the Oku Nikko area for a very short refreshing time. The last time we visited the area was in 2007 in the winter, so quite a change of scenery and a few things have changed since then. Noticeably the Nikki club has closed last summer so we couldn’t stay there again, instead they have transformed the staff quarters into a much cheaper hotel called Artbiotop, where one can experience some craft activities and see the beautiful installation of Ikegami: the water garden. Overall Nasu was almost as hot as Tokyo during the day but nights were a bit cooler. It only really gets cooler when hiking mount Nasu at 1700m and in Oku Nikko by the Chuzenji lake where we visited the British and the Italian residences that have opened to the public since we first came in 2004. And of course we had yuba, a traditional product of Nikko, soba and river fishes. And we discovered by chance a very nice place to eat, while everyone rushes to Chus, the very marketed place to be downtown, we went to Cu-eri, a nice little restaurant that cooks local products with plenty of herbs in a French inspired way.

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Anchovies and grapefruit pasta

The weather in Kanto area has been quite amazing these past weeks. The summer is blasting with a real summer heat and sunny days or with just a few clouds are following each other without a drop of rain. Even the evening storms are not really coming… with such heat cooking is becoming more complicated because the kitchen quickly becomes very hot and one would usually prefer preparing raw food: salads and salads. But I don’t mind cooking in the heat if it is for preparing something new and good. So largely inspired by the classic Italian gremolata recipe I prepared a new recipe using fresh anchovies (I found anchovies prepared for sashimi!!!), grapefruit (I got from our neighbor garden) and fresh tomatoes, to serve with pasta. And it was fresh and nourishing, exactly what I wanted!

Anchovies and grapefruit pasta (2 people)

– 1/2 grapefruit (we use both juice and zest)

– 2 large ripen tomatoes

– a dozen of anchovies, fresh, boned etc…

– olive oil

– salt and pepper

– 125g of dry pasta of your choice

Boil water for the pasta and cook the pasta.

In a pan heated add olive and the tomatoes washed and diced (if the skin is thick, remove the skin by plunging the tomatoes in the boiling water for the pasta). Cook at high heat and stir once in a while. Once the juice has reduced add the juice of the grapefruit, the zest of 1/4 of the grapefruit and the anchovies, stir a little bit. Add salt and pepper. Add the drained pasta and stir well.

Serve and add a bit more zest for plating. Enjoy!

Sea day

I really like that in Japan there is a holiday for the sea day (and now one for the mountain too!!!). I think it is beautiful to celebrate things from the nature that concern everyone and that is not even nationalist. Sea day also marks the debut of the beach season, that lasts only a short month. Beach season meaning that this the time when there are lifeguards and protected swimming areas, and beaches get more crowded (though it has nothing to do with French crowded beaches in the riviera!!!). But for us it means that we avoid the beach between 8:30 and 16:30 and go early in the morning or at dusk when it is much less crowded. And it’s been good this year as it synchronizes with the high tides.

Sea day usually also marks the end of the rainy season but this year actually it was over much before and we’re having a heat stroke earlier than usual. This completely decreases my wish for cooking because all I long for is chilled melon, tropical fruits (they grow delicious passion fruits in Isumi!!!!)… and simple fruits clafoutis.

I found some beautifully ripen apricots from Nagano and plenty of blueberries from Isumi and made a simple clafoutis for our breakfasts that we can eat in looking at the garden or take with us to the beach after our morning swimming and bodyboarding, not that the waves are too good though…

What is your favorite recipe for the hot summer mornings?

Eggplant pasta

These days I’m getting crazy with eggplant pasta. I know eggplants are something we can find easily so I waited until the real beginning of summer and the end of many of the early summer vegetables such as zucchini, to start buying eggplants. I know that from now on eggplant will be on the menu several times a week.

I am decided to try a few new recipes I’ve found inspiring on IG later in the summer, but for the moment, what I love is pasta and eggplants. Simple grilled or olive oil roasted diced eggplants with a few other vegetables such as tomatoes, French beans, onions and some fresh herbs: rosemary, basil, thyme… It is really simple to prepare, it is good warm or cold and it is simply perfect when it’s hot. Topped with freshly grated Parmigiano for me and with prosciutto for A., everyone is happy!!!

Some new greens

Every season brings a new kind of greens to the table, not just seasonal but also things I have never seen or cooked before. That’s what is fun with shopping at local farmers markets. Each one has some different products. When I shop in Ohara, I don’t find the same things than when I shop in Kuniyoshi, 10km inland or in Ohtaki, just a little further inland. There is always something I have never seen, or something rare in Ohara. For example cresson cannot be found easily in Ohara but inland yes!!! This time I’ve found a new type of green with beautiful thick and shiny green leaves and hollow stems. I used them like spinach somehow but it has a more grassy taste. And with the heat settling in Tokyo I prepared a simple dish with French green lentils, this new green blanched with okra, olive oil and curcuma.

Stay cool!

Jute mallow

モロヘイヤ (say moroheiya) or jute mallow is a summer green that us eaten often in Japan in miso soup and tempura. I’ve known it for long but was barely cooking it until last summer when we visited our friends in Tsunan and K. prepared some. This little green plant is like okra or yamaimo, it becomes a bit slimy when cut and even more when heated. I know that many people may be disgusted by the slimy aspect and texture but honestly for me, as soon as it is vegetal I don’t mind. And jute mallow is really nice in many other preparations. I use it with eggs in omelets or scrambled eggs, in stir fried vegetables to serve with rice, and in quiche which is today’s recipe.

Jute mallow and mustard quiche

– flour, water, olive oil for the pie crust

– 2 handfuls of jute mallow

– 2 tomatoes

– a piece of smoked bacon (optional)

– 2 tbs of mustard

– 3 eggs and some milk for the egg base

Prepare and roll the dough in a thin layer to set in a large pie dish. Spread the mustard on the pie crust.

Wash the tomatoes and chop them. Wash the jute mallow and remove the thickest/hardest parts if any. Chop and grill the bacon.

Beat the eggs and the milk, add the bacon and vegetables. Stir and pour in the pie crust. Bake for 40min or until golden. Enjoy warm or cold!

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