Category: Cooking

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…

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!

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!!! 

Friday evening pasta

It’s late, we’re tired and the house is cold. A nice plate of colorful pasta or gnocchi is my favorite dish in that situation!! I had some snap peas, some cherry tomatoes and a bit of bacon left, together with olive oil and pepper, it made a great sauce for short pasta. I choose conchiglie, but orrechiete or penne would work good too as they would get soaked in the sauce and become little recipients which would  bring all the flavors and consistency at once in the mouth. Another simply delicious recipe. 

Colorful vegetables

Well after taking a bit more time and cooking for 4 people it’s now back to crazy at work and coming back home late, working weekends. So dinners have become simpler. It goes together with a typical March weather, when one day is rainy and cold and the next is warm and sunny. When you crave for spring vegetables but it feels like winter. In these times my best dinner solution us a plate of olive oil sautéed vegetables: sweet potatoes, new carrots, beet root and some boiled chick peas. Add a bit of curcuma, and a few snap peas for spring greens and it is ready. Simple, warm, colorful and vegan!

Shiitake and spinach quiche

This is the end of winter, but it is still chilly and though the spring greens are quite attractive, sometimes a good all winter quiche with spinach and shiitake is a perfect dinner. And because I find that a short movie is easier to understand the technique than long sentences I am trying again to make videos of the cooking process. Tell me how you like it. I’m craving to know your opinion to improve from your feedbacks! 

Spinach and shiitake quiche: 

For the quiche crust

– 160g of flour

– 20g of wheat bran

– a pinch of salt

– 1 egg

– 40g of butter

– a bit of water eventually  

In a bowl mix all the ingredients and knead until the dough is soft. Add water or a bit of flour to adjust the hydration level. In a floured top roll the dough to the size of your pie dish. 

For the filling

– 3 eggs

– 20cl of milk

– spinach to your liking 

– shiitake to your liking

– salt, pepper

Wash and blanche the spinach. In a bowl beat the egg, the milk and yhe salt and pepper. Set in the dough. Wash and slice the shiitake. Add the spinach and shiitake.

Bake at 170deg for 30min (the cooking time depends on the depth of the filling) or until golden.

Have a nice week!!!! 

Japanese style pasta

And here we are with a new recipe of Japanese pasta. Honestly I didn’t think I would like this combination so much but in the end I prepare some more than often after the one with pickled cabbage. So this time I prepared a vegan  base with new onion, canola, snap peas, fried tofu, to which you can add some bonito flakes. Served with spaghetti or liguine, and a few drops of soya sauce. Simple and delicious! Have a nice weekend!

No-name recipe

It’s neither a clafoutis nor a quiche nor a cake. It has the fluffiness of a cake, the moisture of a quiche and the edges of a clafoutis. This is simply what I have cooked last night for dinner. With my parents at home I try to come back earlier from work and t gives me the opportunity to cook food that I usually don’t cook because it takes too much baking time. I wanted to prepare a cake with plenty of vegetables but what I often don’t like in cakes is that they are too dry and so not too pleasant to eat. But clafoutis have no pretty shape. And a quiche for 4 won’t fit in my little oven in Tokyo. So I opted for a new option that fixes all the problems, and the result was awesomely delicious!!! The base is that of a cake with flour, baking powder and eggs, in which I have added a huge piece of silky tofu and olive oil. It gives this unique texture to the cake that make it moist and soft. I added some vegetables: 2 tomatoes diced, 1 new onion sliced, a handful of shiitake sliced, and for those who like, some grilled bacon. Except for the tomatoes, I grilled the vegetables in a little of olive oil to soften them. Add all to the mix, plus salt and pepper and bake for 30-40min or until all golden. I served it with a little green salad and sprouts.

Have a nice end of the week!!! 

Spring is in the air!

Well, at least in the farmers market! Because it’s still quite cold in Tokyo… but all these greens were so appalling that I couldn’t resist making a little green risotto for everyone! Simply with one leek for the creaminess, and then fava beans, green peas and snap peas. That’s the vegan base. But with my parents at home I need to adjust to everyone taste, so basically I prepared 4 different risotto. For the vegetarian I added some Italian parmegiano cream cheese, for the macrobiotic version I added some horse mackerel cut in bites, and for those who like everything they add both, even topped with gratted parmegiano. Everyone was very happy with their personalized version!!

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