If there is one traditional food I don’t care much about it’s the Epiphany kings’ galette, the “galette des rois”. Whether the brioche or the frangipane, I don’t care much about them. Not that I dislike them but I don’t like them either. They are not part of my must-eat food. And since I am bad at making puff pastry, that’s even easier to forget about it… but this year IG was covered with galettes and though I was insensitive to them A. wasn’t… and he asked me why we never have galette though he loves it so much!
What???? Why on earth would you wait more than 20 years to tell me???
How could I have not imagined he would love galette. He who doesn’t like almonds but loves calisson and financiers, he who doesn’t love butter but loves croissants and brioches… of course he loves galette… of course I ignored that…
Well then… I took all the courage it takes to make an attempt at puff pastry when I have failed so often.
So here I am folding and rolling and turning every hour my puff pastry by the book, hoping it will become something… probably because of the cold temperature inside it is not as tedious as I remembered, and no butter spill.
For the frangipane I used a standard recipe: almond powder plenty, 1 egg, a bit of sugar and a tiny bit of butter, stirred into a dense pomade.
The rest is just simple. I decided for a square galette, rolled one layer of dough, topped with frangipane, leaving enough room to close it. Rolled another layer of dough to put on top, sealed the borders well. Paint an egg batter. Made a little seasonal drawing: blooming camellia japonica as we have so many in the garden, and 30min at 200deg. Until just golden. A. couldn’t wait any longer!!!
The result was surprisingly delicious. It didn’t have the sticky sugary top it too often has in shops, it was not too sweet, actually very nice, and the puff pastry worked well! Beginner’s luck!!!
Many of you may be familiar with golden milk, this Indian drink with turmeric and milk, rooted in Ayurveda. Not that I am a fan of it, but borrowing the idea, I prepared myself a warming and bright lunch on a snowy day. Snow doesn’t fall often in Tokyo. Usually once or twice a year in January and March. It is very sudden, it snows a lot for a few hours to cover everything under a beautiful white blanket, and then the next minute is sunny and the blanket melts into a mess of mud and ice. But for a few hours it is magic. The city becomes suddenly quiet.
So before going outside for a walk, what best then having a warm lunch? A what if it is not only warm, it is also bright and full of flavors? That’s how I came up with this golden sautéed rice recipe.
Golden rice (2 servings as main dish)
1 cup of brown rice
1 or 2 leaks
3 little turnips or 1 large
1 little lotus root
1tsp pf curry powder
2tsp of ground turmeric
Ground black pepper
A punch of salt
1tsp of vegetal oil
6 rakkyo (optional)
Cook the rice. Wash and cut the vegetables. In a pan large enough, heat the oil, add the vegetables and cook while steering. Add the rice, the spices and pepper and steer very well. Serve and top with the rakkyo. Eat while watching the cold outside!!
If you have read Natsume Soseki’s novel the cat, watched Juzo Itami’s Tampopo or check the Japanese news today, you may not think highly of this Japanese new year specialty that is eaten widely, but kills about 300 people every year!!! No kidding! Despite the caution announcement every year before new year. And if you are more than 65 the risk maybe high that you suffocate eating mochi if you are not careful! But being careful is easy, and mochi is delicious. So let’s get passed the first bad impression, talk about mochi and let me share with you a few delicious ways to eat mochi.
First thing first, you may have heard about mochi but what is it exactly? In most places it is translated as rice cake, but I think it is a bit misleading. Mochi is made of mochigome 餅米 a round rice, slightly more glutinous than the rice you would eat normally, it is cooked them crushed into a paste, the paste is then shaped into a ball of various sizes (smaller are less dangerous to choke on). Making mochi for new year is a tradition and there are plenty of opportunities to go to mochi-dsuki 餅つき events in local communities. We went to our first one in January 2005 with our Japanese teacher. That was fun to pound the rice in a large wooden standing bowl called usu 臼, carved in a trunk, with a huge wooden mallet or pestel called kine 杵.
Me on the left pounding mochi with I. on the day we met for the very first time. (January 2005)
Of course we were scared to try eating it (for the above reasons ;)), but in the end we enjoyed it very much in many many ways: in soup (ozoni), with nori and soya sauce, with kinako, with red beans etc… Not everyone is equipped with a set to make mochi at home and not everyone makes at least 2kg of mochi at once, so there are other ways to get your hand on mochi and to try this very special Japanese specialty. Here are some options I recommend: steamed mochi rice hand crushed and pound in a mortar, fresh mochi in grocery shops (not so easy to find in the city, easier in the countryside) but it doesn’t keep for long, kirimochi 切り餅, it is basically dried mochi that is very easy to use and keeps much longer and is nice for also making grilled mochi (if you want some let me know I can arrange shipment wherever you are, DM me on Instagram or Facebook). Some websites offers to make mochi with a mixer, but it seems that without a powerful one all you may do is burn your motor, so I wouldn’t actually recommend it. Some others propose to make it from mochi rice flour, I have never tried and I guess it is OK but it will lack the slightly granulous texture that you can have with pounded rice.
Once you have your mochi ready it is really easy to prepare in one of the many possible versions savory or sweet. If you use kirimochi you may need to return it to softness by simply putting in a pan cover with water and boil it a few minutes on both sides until tender. Today I introduce two recipes, one savory ozoni, in a version with only clear broth inspired by a picture I saw on Instagram, but reinterpreted, but you can also add white miso to it to make it more Kyoto-style! and one sweet kinako mochi, but there are many others. Actually one I love is mochi with soya sauce, very simple but so delicious and perfect as a side for a piece of grilled fish or with some vegetables.
Kinako mochi
soft mochi (if you use kirimochi it needs to be returned to softness)
kinako (torrefied soya bean powder)
brown sugar
I a bowl mix 4/1 kinako/sugar (for example 4tsp of kinako and 1tsp of sugar). Cut the mochi into bite sizes. Dip the mochi in water and roll in the kinako mix, set in a bowl. You can make as much as you want it is very easy to eat and really delicious!!! The picture below is what I made for two for a tea-time snack. There was about 8-10 small bites.
kinako mochi
Ozoni (without miso) (2 servings)
500ml of dashi ( I use ichiban dashi (konbu & katsuo) but you can also do with konbu & shiitake dashi for a vegan version)
2 pieces of kirimochi
2 umeboshi
a few seasonal vegetables: 1 carrot, a few spinach leaves or 1 small bok choy…, 2 little turnips…
optional a zest of yuzu
In a pan, prepare the dashi. In another pan, return the kirimochi until soft. Prepare the vegetables (I used a cookie cutter to make the carrot in plum shapes). Cook them in the pan with the dashi, until just tender. In a bowl of your choice set the mochi, dress the vegetables, add the umeboshi, the yuzu peel and cover with the dashi. Enjoy while it’s hot.
Again send me a message on Instagram or Facebook if you want dashi, kinako or kirimochi.
A few weeks ago I started to think about how much I love the French gingerbread called pain d’épices, that I don’t recall seeing any in Japan and that I never made some… It is heavy in the hand, yet light when eaten, with a beautiful golden color and flavors and aromas that sparkle in the mouth, and the texture is a very melting one. One of my favorite pain d’ épices of all time is that of my horse ridding teacher. She has a gift not only for gardening but also for cooking sweets. In summer during intensive training camps, she would bake while we would play around with the horses, and make fruits charlottes with the fruits from the orchard. In the fall or winter she would make pain d’épices. I was so found of it that I remember asking her the recipe, and she told me she just mixes 1kg of flour with 1kg of honey. I was probably 12 when I asked but I still remember this recipe because it didn’t make sense for me at the time, honey and flour, that’s it, really??? and I never tried, too scared of wasting 1kg of honey!
But when I started to look at how to make pain d’épices how surprised was I to see that, this is indeed the recipe for classic pain d’épices from Reims. What I didn’t know then was that the mix, with spices added, should be kept days or weeks to start the fermentation that will guarantee the fluffiness. Last year I would probably have been very skeptical trying such an attempt, as I was not very sure how all this fermentation worked, but since I made my sourdough Lois I feel a lot more confident to do flour base fermentation. Finally, last week I decided to start the experiment and prepared a mix of 600g of flour and 600g of honey together, some said that adding the spices at that stage would increase the development of aromas, so I added them too. I left the preparation in a container under a lid the whole week at home (with the winter temperatures settling in, the house temperature is about 5 to 9 now, so no big risk of seeing things rotting, or mold developing!!!!) And today I just found my mixture, it hasn’t changed much but it is not looking bad at all so I prepared it and baked it. The result???
A perfect pain d’épices! The look, the color, the texture, the smell… Exactly as you would find on in France, a happy A. and a happy me, eaten it with a cup of Christmas tea at tea-time or for breakfast. We even used it for toasts with cheese for me and some pork paté for A. and we were very satisfied. The recipe is very simple and except for the one week wait it is very simple to make. Definitely a must do again one. This recipe is will become a new classic like my pompe a l’huile.
Pain d’ épices (1 big loaf or 2 smaller)
600g of flour
600g of pure honey (liquid is easier but creamy can work too)
1tsp of ground cardamom
1tsp of ground cloves
2tsp of cinnamon
1 ping pong size piece of fresh ginger, pealed, grated or chopped thinly (I use fresh ginger because it is easy to find and I just chopped it roughly but you may use ground ginger, then 1/2tsp should be good enough)
water
additional 1/2tsp of baking soda (if your rise time is short)
About 5days to two weeks before you want to bake your pain d’epices prepare the dough. For that, in a container with a lid mix the honey the flour and the spice. If your honey is really to creamy and hard too work you can melt it in a pan at very low heat to liquify it. Stir to incorporate all ingredients. I used a spatula to do that as the mix is way to sticky to put hands in. One everything is well incorporated put the lid on the container, and let rest for as long as you want, but at least a few days.
After a few days, the spices may have start to color the dough a bit but it may not have changed much otherwise. When you want to bake your pain d’epices, pre-heat your oven to 150deg, just add a little of tepid water to the mix to soften it and knead. The dough is sticky but not terribly sticky. If you think your rise time is rather short (just a few days), you may want to add a little of baking soda now, to ensure perfect fluffiness. Knead and add water to obtain a compact yet smooth dough. Using parchment paper set in a cake dish or split in two and make two, or more. And bake for about 2h if you make a big one (check with a knife or stick if the dough is well cooked inside), for 2 smaller, about 1h should be enough.
I made a very large one and baked about 2h at 150deg, but wasn’t sure it was perfectly baked so I finished with 10 min at 180deg just to be sure. Let cool down before cutting and eating.
Pain d’epices normally keeps well, this is tone he purpose of the original recipe. But in our house, we didn’t had time to see how long it can keep!!! We’ve eaten it in a snap!!!
Look at this beautiful color and perfectly dense but bubbly texture!!!
I always feel excited when the days are becoming short and colder. Spending time outside when the sun is high, and as soon as the sun sets down, it is time to sit for hot spicy tea, a slice of cake or a piece of something comforting. I bake Provencal pompes a l’huile, panettone, or brioches. This is an habit I took when we were in Florence, and I cherish it very much. I also like to go for a walk at night and see the illuminations. Tokyo is really good at creating a festive atmosphere, would it be for the new year, the cherry tree blooming, the summer fireworks… there is always a good reason to decorate and makes us feel like little children.
Christmas decorations at Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi
But when I look at western magazines and IG feeds, it is all about festive food, or so-called, but it is just an accumulation of decadent food, that I must say is a mood killer for me. Rich buche de Noel or Christmas cakes, menus with heavy terrible food such as foie gras, or very creamy things I am just running away from these. I don’t like most of the fancy food: truffles, caviar, oysters, foie gras. and all these pictures instead of appalling to me they only make me crave for simple food, nourishing and warming yet elegant.
This is when I make more often than ever ochazuke and soups with vegetables and grains. I really love a warm bouillon with some nourishing pasta or rice or chickpeas, lentils, spelt, beans… Today I came up with a super delicious recipe, so I am very happy to share it now!
Farro winter soup
1cup of farro
1/4 of Chinese cabbage
1/4 of butternut squash
8 shiitake
1tsp of turmeric
1/2tsp of ground cumin
1/2tsp of cumin seeds
Wash the cabbage and chop it. Same with the shiitake. Peel and cut the butternut. Put them all in a pan and amply cover with water. Add the farro. Cook at high heat to bring to a boil, then cook for 30min at medium to low heat. Verify that there is still enough liquid, add some if necessary. Add the turmeric, the cumin powder and seeds, a big of salt and pepper. Give a good but gentle stir and serve. Eat hot. No need for an drizzle of olive oil in my opinion but you can add one if you want !
There are things I love I don’t make often enough. Among them are cha-kaiseki cuisine, ravioli, steamed buns and flat breads. Even though they are easy enough to make I just get distracted, or don’t have the right ingredients, or prepare something else. So last night when time to prepare dinner came I had my mind set on flat breads and couldn’t change it. But with what??? It took me a bit of time to come up with something that would be a good match, but suddenly spinach and sweet potatoes ragoût appeared as the only option. A bit pf spice and I knew it would be a hit! And damned it was!!! As simple as it you can improvise your own recipe, just in case, I share mine.
Flat breads (8 15cn pieces)
150g of flour
A pinch of salt
A pinch of baking soda
Water
Mix the flour, salt and baking soda together. Add water little by little while kneading until you have a smooth dough. Leave aside.
After you have prepared the veggies (see below) cut the dough in 8 pieces. Roll each to a 15cm and cook them in a pan on both side until golden.
Spinach ragoût (2 serving)
2 large bundles of fresh spinach
2 sweet potatoes
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
1tbs of carvi seeds
3tbs of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Wash the vegetables. Cut the sweet potato in bite size. In a large pan heat the olive oil. Add the vegetables, and cover with water. Cook slowly. Add the spices. Let cook at low heat until all the liquid is gone. Stir sometimes.
Blanquette (pronounce “blanket”, but don’t get confused) is a very French, very traditional dish that my grandmother would often prepare when we had family lunches. She would make it with veal meat. But I guess everyone has its own recipe. Hers would also includes some green olives. It’s been a long time since I have quit eating veal… and a few times, long ago, I prepared some with chicken breast, but to be honest this is something I have not prepared in years if not a decade!!! Yet with carrots and mushrooms in the fridge, it suddenly reminded me of blanquette, and felt like I would do a vegetable only version, and eat it with steamed basmati rice for a change. When you use only vegetables it is rather quick to prepare and ended up being a great dinner dish after work and workout. So here’s my recipe, and a few variations possible to twist it to your liking! Enjoy!
Blanquette (2 servings as main dish)
3 carrots
5-10 mushrooms depending on size
1 leaf of laurel
Salt and pepper
15g of butter
1tbs of flour
Water
All the following are optional
10 green olives
1 chicken breast
1 leak…
Melt the butter in a pan. Wash and cut the vegetables. Cut mushrooms in four, carrots in bite size, leak in small chunks, chicken in bite size. Add to the melted butter and stir well to coat them, at low heat. Add the flour little by little while stirring, to make the roux, then add water to just half cover. Add salt and pepper and the laurel. Cook at low heat until the liquid turns into a thick and creamy texture (if too thick just add a bit of water and cook a bit longer, same if you think you want your vegetables more tender). Add the olives if you use some, stir again. And serve hot with rice (not Japanese rice, better with long grain rice)
As much as I do!!! I’ve always loved lemons, and lemon juice. In France and in Italy when every one goes to the cafe to have an expresso, I would either have a freshly squeezed lemon, when it’s cold in winter, with some hot water in it. That’s really something I love about cafes, and that, with freshly squeezed orange, is probably the only fresh thing you can have.
Our lemon tree this year had a lot of flowers but none went to maturity so we’ll have no fruits. So when my secretary sent me a giant box filled with giant lemons from her garden, I can only be thankful, and super happy. Who doesn’t love no chemical at all grown vegetables or fruits???
It took me a bit of time to think about what to cook… I love lemon tarts, lemon cakes, lemon squares… but I wanted to try something else… so while sipping hot lemon, I browsed the net for some recipes and found a lemon brownie recipe. Buttery and sweet, that would be a hit with A. No doubt!
Except that the recipe I found was a little odd: they didn’t say when to put the sugar, the proportion of butter was just too much and all sounded a bit awkward, so while using a classic chocolate recipe I came up with my own lemon brownie recipe, and it was great (lucky I cut the butter by a fourth, it is already very buttery!!!)
Enjoy! It is really super easy!!!
Lemon brownie (makes a large pie dish for at least 6 pieces)
180g of flour
150g of sugar
150g of butter
4 eggs
The zest of one large lemon or two small
The juice of one large juicy lemon or two smaller or less juicy
A pinch of sal
A pinch of baking soda
Melt the butter. In a large bowl mix the flour, the salt, the baking soda and the lemon zest, add the butter and stir.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs, the sugar and the lemon juice. Add to the previous bowl and stir. Set in a buttered and floured pie dish to have about 1.5cm thickness.
Every time I receive a parcel from my parents from France, there is inevitably some of my favorite staples in it. Chickpeas and chickpea flour are part of them. They are made by an acquaintance and I love cooking with them. So yesterday I decided to cook a big batch of chickpeas and I used most them in raggu with other vegetables etc… but I ended up with about two handfuls remaining and it was lunch time… and it was a bit of a chilly wind outside, I have had a long walk so wanted something warming… it would be soup. While minestrone with chickpeas is quite common in Italy, I opted for a version where the chickpeas are blended to obtain a creamy consistency. I added an hard boiled egg on top may be because I wanted one but it is totally optional.
Want to try my recipe of the chickpeas velouté? Here it is!!!
Chickpeas velouté (1 serving)
Two handful of boiled chickpeas
Water
1tbsp of olive oil
Cumin powdered
Paprika
Turmeric
Black pepper grounded
In the bowl of your blender put the chickpeas, 1 glass of water and 1tbs of olive oil. Blend. If it is too thick add a bit more water. Add the spices and blend again. Move to a pan and heat slowly. Serve and enjoy!
I am sure you could add cream and other things to make the soup richer and silkier, but I like simple things and I prefer olive oil rather than cream… so that’s my way of doing it!
