Category: Recipe

Persimmons

When the season for persimmons comes it means that autumn is clearly here and with shorter days, the chilly evenings will be coming soon. And here they are. Not cold enough to tuen the heater on yet, but it’s coming.

While we are not big fans of raw persimmons, like pretty much everyone in Chiba Sotoboso, we have persimmon trees in our garden, two that give sweet persimmons and one that gives bitter ones. Persimmons are like plums in June, impossible to give away!!! Most people don’t even harvest them and their leave-less branches are decorated with beautiful orange fruits. I our gardens the fruits don’t last long as birds happily eat them and that is great. Still I always harvest a few fruits for us as there is one recipe that is my total preferred way of eating persimmons: tofu ae with cucumber.

So here it is:

Persimmon, cucumber and tofu ae: 

– 1 persimmon not too soft

– 1 Japanese cucumber  

– 1 small block of drained tofu

– 2tbs of sesame seeds

– a bit of salt

Peel and dice the persimmon, slice the cucumber. Grind the sesame seeds, drain very well the tofu* and mix with the salt. Add the persimmon and the cucumber. Stir well and it is ready to serve.

Oh! By the way, I’m testing new mini videos to explain the recipe… checkout below and on IG!!!

* draining tofu is crucial to obtain the perfect creamy consistency. To drain tofu (hard or soft) first press it gently between two boards with a weight on top. Gravity will make it work perfectly for you after 1h. Then in a clean cloth with thin weaving press the tofu to remove the water has shown in the third video below.

http://gentianeetantoine.com/igk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/video.mov

http://gentianeetantoine.com/igk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/video-1.mov

http://gentianeetantoine.com/igk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/video-2.mov

http://gentianeetantoine.com/igk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/video-3.mov

Kabocha pie

Halloween doesn’t inspire me much for cooking. Too much colors, disgusting appearance… I am not a fan at all and I must say that looking at my IG feed these days was not very attractive. Hopefully it’s passed now… None the less the orange pumpkins and the sweetness of their taste is something that I love, though in Japan we don’t really have the giant pumpkins of North America, we have our little Japanese kabocha all the same delicious, while different in texture.

A Japanese kabocha though rather small is usually something that is big enough to be used for 3 or 4 meals… so when I ended with 1/3 of kabocha that needed to be eaten, I decided to make a pumpkin pie. But since we don’t eat much sweets… except when I flip crepes!! I made a savory and spicy pie. I knew it would be good, but what I didn’t expect is that it would be scrumptiously addictive!!! So… here is my recipe and let me know how you liked it!!

Savory kabocha pie

– 1/3 kabocha

– 25cl of milk

– 2 eggs

– cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, salt, pepper

– 50g of whole wheat flour

– 80g of white hard flour

– 4tbs of rice oil

– water

Wash the kabocha, remove the seeds, and a bit of the skin if you find hard spots. Cut in large cube and boil until very soft. Drain.

In the meantime in a bowl mix the flours, the oil and add water little by little while kneading until the dough is soft and smooth. Roll to the size or your pie dish and set.

Turn on the oven to 180deg.

Go back to your kabocha. With a fork mash it, add the milk and the eggs, stir then add the spices to your liking. Stir again. Pour in the pie crust and bake for 45min. Enjoy!!!

Call it cooking… or not

But damn… this was a super delicious combination…

You remember me cooking in apron over my suit right after work? Well I was preparing dinner with the leftover veggies: kabocha and tomatoes. I also picked some fresh parsley in the garden and was thinking about what to do with them when the crave for soba noodles just came. All was decided… And that’s how this recipe of kabocha soba was born. It was so delicious that I really need to share it with you! Moreover because it’s been a while I haven’t shared a proper recipe!!

Kabocha-soba (for two regular servings)

– 125-150g of dry soba noodles (I use 100% buckwheat flour noodles)

– 1/4 kabocha

– 1 large very ripe tomato (if not the season anymore where you are use a tomato preserve without any seasoning)

– a few sprigs of fresh parsley

– 1tsp of soya sauce

– a bit of olive oil

While the water to cook the soba is heated, wash and cut in small cubes (5-10mm) the kabocha. Wash the tomato and dice. In a pan grease with a bit of olive oil, start cooking the vegetables. Add 1/4 cup of water if the tomato is not juicy enough. Cook under cover until the kabocha is soft but not too much. Add the chopped parsley and stop cooking but keep warm. The sauce shouldn’t be liquid or juicy. Just moistened a bit.

Cook the soba as detailed on the package. Serve in bowls. Top with the vegetables, add the soya sauce. Eat immediately and enjoy the perfect balance between the rustic soba flavor, the freshness of the parsley, the sweetness of the tomato and the creaminess of the kabocha, enhanced by the salty taste of the soya sauce!

Pumpkin

At last… the beautiful autumn days have arrived and with them the most typical autumn vegetables (with mushrooms): the pumpkins!!!

While in Tokyo supermarkets you may find only Japanese kabocha, the one with the soft dark green skin and the vibrant orange flesh, that is also found all year round… In the countryside, in farmers markets and local cooperatives you can find many more varieties. Of course the butternut squash is now a classic, but not only. And last week one of our friend gave us a beautiful little pumpkin. It was so cute that I was sad to cut it open, but there are a few recipes I really enjoy and at some point I decided it was time to eat it.

One of my favorite Japanese style to cook kabocha of all kind is to boil them in dashi, add a bit of soya sauce… serve that with rice and I am more than happy. I shared that recipe before but just to make sure, I share it again. It is so simple.

Simmered kabocha in dashi

– a piece of kabocha/pumpkin (200-300g)

– 2 tbs of soya sauce

– a handful of katsuobushi flakes

Wash the pumpkin/kabocha. If it is a Japanese kabocha you don’t need to peel it. Otherwise peel it. Cut in bite size. In a pan put the cut kabocha, cover with water. Add the katsuobushi flakes. Bring to a boil and boil for 5min. When the kabocha is almost soft (use a bamboo toothpick), if there is a lot of water remaining drain. Otherwise just increase the heat for 20sec to make the liquid evaporate.

Add the soya sauce and roll the kabocha in by gently shaking and turning the pan. Don’t be violent or you’ll end with a purée!! Serve warm or cold.

The point in this recipe is that I don’t remove the katsuobushi flakes after using them in the dashi, on the contrary. Mixed with the soya sauce they are delicious.

Lemongrass

With the terrible summer the garden hasn’t produced much since August. My eggplants are having a hard time growing, same for the celeriac, and the ukon. The beets have disappeared… only the peanuts, the celery branch, and the herbs are doing fine. Regarding the fruits… the jujube are few and very tiny, the persimmons are very small too, I have no lemons and a dozen of yuzu that are not yet mature so will see how this ends up. But little is not nothing so let’s enjoy what we got! And among the harvested products I kind of enjoyed a lot the lemongrass. It was my first year planting some and it easily picked up and produce quite a bit. Well for a plant that loves water must have been satisfied this summer!!!!

I have not a lot of experience cooking with lemongrass and my favorite preparation it definitely herb tea. I found it simple to harvest and dry lemongrass naturally. I just cut in 3cm long the leaves and they dried in 2 days. I use a pinch for a large mug of drink.

In food, I remembered using quite a lot lemongrass back then when we lived in Paris and also getting tired with the too strong flavor. But a few things I remember loving it for was in clear soups and in vegetables preparations. Remembering that last one I prepared us a very simple meal with simmered chickpeas, carrots, kabocha and I using lemongrass to give a nice fresh flavor to eat. Served with a fresh leaves salad, and a bit of olive oil… it was very nice!

Enjoy the autumn, it’s official now!

Butternut squash ravioli

It’s been a while I didn’t make pasta! It was too hot and the summer vegetables don’t go to well for making ravioli filling. But now that autumn is here, hey! Hey! It’s time to get the pasta machine out and roll some pasta!!!

As the title indicates, I made butternut squash ravioli. It’s not my first time of course, and you can find different recipes already here and here, but this time I decided to try making tiny ravioli and add some spices: nutmeg and cinnamon, and a bit more salt and pepper than usual. And serve them with roasted pine nuts and olive oil… and you know what? It was delicious!!! The cinnamon adds a really nice twist of sweetness and is much better than just the nutmeg alone. So here is the filling recipe and the sauce, for the pasta just as usual…

Butternut squash ravioli

For the filling:

– 1/2 butternut squash

– 1 pinch of nutmeg

– 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

– a pinch of salt

– freshly ground pepper

For the sauce:

– a handful of pine nuts

– olive oil

Boil or steam the butternut peeled.

Drain well and remove all the water, seeds and fibers. Let cool down. Add all the other ingredients and stir well. Fill the ravioli.

In a frypan roast the pine nuts.

Boil the ravioli, dress the plates with ravioli, pine nuts and a bit of olive oil. That’s it!!!

Autumn days

With the sudden change in weather, my inspiration is back! Though I’m still tired of the rainy weekends and sunny week days (when at work… when I’d rather be in my garden…), I’ve been busy with some sewing projects, perfect for the weather. A. has challenged me to make a cover for his surfboard, and I think I did something quite great, that needs just the final touch. In the meantime, my neighbor came to me last week with some cotton fabric to make a yukata for A. and I’ve taken up the challenge!! I’ve completed it!!

Cooking-wise, with the almost cool evenings, it’s been really agreeable to cook and knead. And I’ve come up with a new ravioli recipe (coming later this week), salmon croquettes and other delights for the palate!!!

Let’s start today with the salmon croquettes! This is the season for autumn salmon 秋鮭 and I really like it. It goes well with fresh ginger which is also in season. I bought half a salmon and we ate it grilled first, but with so much I could definitely do another meal! So here is my recipe:

Salmon and coriander croquettes

– 150-200g of fresh salmon, better if grilled and leftover

– a handful of fresh coriander leaves

– 1tbs of panko

– 1 egg

Remove the skin and bones of the fish (if not grilled then grill it first). Crumble it in a bowl. Add the egg and panko. Wash and chop the coriander. Add and stir well. In a greased heated pan make small balls with the mix and cook until golden on each side. Serve with grated ginger and with whatever you like!

Lack of inspiration

I don’t know if it’s the super hot and humid weather, the hard time we’ve had with jetlag (it took almost two weeks to recover with a permanent impression of being tired, feverish, and to have a cold), or the impression that the summer is over and somebody (Mr. bad weather) still it from me… as it was way too short… but I have difficulties in finding inspirations to cook. For I don’t know how many days our meals have consisted of pasta and vegetables. Not that I don’t like them… but still… or of rice and umeboshi… But even if I have time to cook I don’t have the energy or the inspiration… because nothing attracts me anymore. I reject the autumn vegetables, too early!, and I am not enthused with the late summer ones anymore…

So last night I decided to cook something I don’t cook often but we love: a potato salad with fresh greens, a rich yogurt dressing and herbs plenty. And this morning, the first autumn day was here! Temperature under 30 and a nice breeze… so now I will start cooking a lot more butternut squash, kabocha, shiitake and other mushrooms! But still, here is the potato salad recipe, because what is good is good!!!

End of summer potato salad

– 3 or 4 potatoes

– 1/2 branch of celery

– 1 cucumber

– fresh coriander leaves

– fresh sprouts: broccoli, soya…

– 1/2 cup of greek or nordic yogurt, drained

– olive oil, salt, pepper

Boil the potatoes and peel them. Slice them. Wash and cut in thin slices the cucumber. Cut in 5mm cubes the celery. Wash the sprouts and the coriander.

In a bowl, put the potatoes, the yogurt and the olive oil, salt and pepper, stir well. It doesn’t matter if you crush the potatoes. Add the vegetables, stir again, the sprouts, stir and serve! That’s it!

Panisse

Probably very few of you know what panisse are… you only know if you’ve been to Provence long enough or have a specific interest in regional cooking… Panisse are an other traditional recipe based on chickpea flour and that cones from Italy apparently, but is also famous as far as Marseille. I’ve already shared the recipe of socca from Nice, panisse are something different. They are thicker and fluffier. Most recipes I’ve found are just using the same ingredients as socca but cook it in a pan with a lot more water, and then wait for it to cool down before frying them. I wasn’t too happy with these recipes and tried one I found in one of my vegetarian cookbook. The reason I was interested in that recipe is because you need to add a bit of baking soda to the mix… and you can cook it immediately and eat it immediately too. I still cooked it in a frypan like the socca but it resemble a giant fluffy pancake.

So here is my recipe.

Panisse

– 100g of chickpea flour

– a pinch of salt

– 1tbs of olive oil

– 1tsp of baking powder

– water

In a bowl mix all the ingredients and add water little by little until the mix is thick but not dry.

Heat a frypan of 15cm diameter, grease slightly with olive oil, pour the mix and cook at low heat, under cover, until it’s almost dry on top. Flip, and cook 2more minutes. Cut and eat!

You can use a lot more oil when cooking the panisse, but this is not mandatory… you can also add a bit of salt after too… enjoy!

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