Nabana, nanohana whatever you call it, it’s spring!

I remember reading Natsume Soseki’s novels more than 20 years ago and not fully understanding how he could write that the new year celebrations were also marking the beginning of spring with plum trees blooming… until I realize he was talking of the former calendar and the lunar New year which is basically in February. And indeed at this time of the year spring is in the air. Not only plum tree are blooming, the spring vegetables are sprouting, it’s time for fukinoto and nanohana.

Blooming plum tree: a sign of spring and the promise of many fruits in June

Nanohana, also called nabana 菜の花　or 菜花 that I often translated as canola is indeed a close relative indeed, but also of broccoli. The little yellow flowers at the top of this brilliant green stick and leaves, brings sunshine in any dish. And there can be many. It’s a very versatile vegetable, easy to prepare Japanese way or with western influences. I love nanohana in quiche or with pasta, in sautéed rice, with eggs, also cooked in dashi and topped with katsuobushi, and seasoned with soya sauce. As you can see I love it!

And maybe I love it that much because I believe that the first time I remember eating nanohana was at our wedding lunch, 14 years ago. Indeed, A. And I got married in winter, or rather early spring in the old calendar. And after the ceremony at the shinto shrine we celebrated with our guest in a ryoutei 料亭 we liked very much, in Ningyocho. And the chef who had carte blanche, impressed us with a combination of Japanese traditional and seasonal flavors, and some more western cuisine. Perfect given the mix of culture in our guests. So that’s when I remember eating nanohana.

Incidentally, nanohana is the emblem flower of Chiba prefecture, and the Isumi railway becomes picturesque when they bloom together with sakura (typically in a few weeks), I invite you to come and visit the area, it’s truly beautiful.

February 25, 2021

Canola

Every year one of the first vegetable that shows the arrival of warmer days and real spring (meaning up and downs in temperatures and unstable weather) is canola.

Not only canola is delicious, it is also beautiful in the nature, with its tall vibrant green leaves and yellow flowers. Isumi and Otaki are quite famous for its sight as they grow along the Isumi line train tracks and make very picturesque pictures for which a lot of people come. Not to say when the cherry trees start blooming, the pink trees bring some more pictural scenes and views, and gather even more people!

I enjoy very much when we ride in the country side at that time, but as you know, I love cooking canola too a lot.

This time, I used it for a very quick recipe, with soba and scrambled eggs. I simply blanched the canola washed and cut with a handful of katsuobushi. I boiled the soba, prepare the eggs, served all in a bowl, added olive oil and soya sauce, that’s it!!!

I’m now flying to Australia for a few days… bye-bye!

March 18, 2019

Miso spring quiche

The last weekend had a real taste of spring, beautiful weather, warm air, flowers in the garden, pollen allergy e tutti quanti! And at the farmers market na no hana of course but also new potatoes and new onions with green, something in between leek and new onions somehow, and grown in Kujukuri, a few kilometers north of Isumi. To test this newly arrived vegetables, as soon as I saw them I decided to bake a quiche, with miso, tofu and na no hana. The recipe is quite aimple and straight forward. First prepare some dough for the pie crust. I used some whole wheat flour and olive oil. Roll and set in a pie dish. Then in a bowl beat 3 eggs, 3 table spoon of miso and add a piece of momendofu (hard tofu). Beat well, and pour in the pie crust. Wash the vegetables and add more or less elegantly in the mixture. Bake at 180deg for 40min. Et voilà!

March 6, 2018

Quiche…

I could never emphasize enough how much quiches are delicious and always different. Just playing with the thickness of the pie crust and the filling changes everything, changing the filling and the ingredients of the dough make it also completely different. It’s a giant playground that adjusts for all seasons, and provides a perfect meal all at once. Contrarily to most may believe it is actually very simple to cook a quiche, and it can be done quite rapidly. The cooking time (compared to pasta, risotto…) is probably the most critical since it can take up to 40min. But This gives hands free to catch up with the news, do another chores, read a bit, or chat about the day with A.. And the result is always worth the wait!

This time I prepared a simple whole wheat dough with olive oil, rolled it very thin. For the filling, I steamed some leek and canola flowers (and drained well to avoid having a too wet mixture), added a few slices of lotus root, plenty of tofu in the egg base. That’s it!!!

Keep warm! It’s cold and gloomy in Tokyo.

February 22, 2018

Canola flowers – 菜の花

In a flash we went from cabbages and sweet potatoes to fukinoto and canola flowers. It’s almost spring already, and the vegetables at the farmers market let you know that! Of course it’s only the beginning, and it is nice and interesting to mix winter and early spring ingredients. Canola flowers are versatile and I am very found of them. They start at the same time plum trees start to bloom and they both are markers of our wedding anniversary. Indeed, we got married under beautiful plum trees in full bloom at Gojoten jinja on a cold and perfectly sunny day of February 2007. And for the celebration lunch Kikuya’s chef prepared among the many dishes some canola flowers that we discovered at that time.

I cook canola flowers, or rather I like to call them the Japanese way: na no hana, quite often when the season comes. They are a good alternative to broccoli and more local. I have tried a lot of different combinations and developed many recipes with na no hana, and I still continue. This time with some beautiful cod fish from Hokkaido I prepared a kind of rice bowl. Simple, healthy, tasty and colorful. Try it please!

Na no hana and cod rice (for 2 people)

– 1 cup of Japanese rice (as always Koshihikari from chiba for me)

– 200g or a small bundle of na no hana

– 200g of fresh cod

– 2cups of katsuobushi dashi

– sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt

First start to cook the rice. While it cooks prepare the rest of the ingredients. In a fry pan start grilling the cod on the skin side at medium heat. In a pan prepare the dashi then add the washed na no hana. Boil them until soft. Drain once cooked and chop. Once the rice and the fish are cooked, in a fry pan add some sesame oil, the rice, the fish in crumbles without the skin, and the na no hana. Stir well and cook at high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add salt and sesame seeds and serve. Enjoy!

February 21, 2018

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

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!

March 11, 2017

Canola with miso

It is nice to change shopping place once in a while because different markets have different products and it opens up to new opportunity for trying new recipes or new combinations. So this weekend instead of shopping in Ohara I shopped in Kuniyoshi, a small village 10km away. I love their coop shop because they have many different products in particular for fish and meat. So I got a beautiful sashimi of sabre fish and prepared it very simply with white rice, canola boiled in dashi and served with miso (one classic use of canola in Japanese cuisine), and I pan fried some tiny lotus roots and the fish. That’s it!

Canola with miso – 味噌和え菜の花

– 1 bundle of canola

– 1 small handful of katsuobushi

– 1 tbsp of miso of your choice

Wash quickly the canola under running water, remove the hardest parts if any. In a pan boil 1/3L of water, add the katsuobushi in a dashi bag. Bring to a boil. Add the canola and cook for 5min. Drain and rince with cold water. Squeeze them gently to remove all the water. Cut in 3 or 4 the whole bundle. Serve woth miso on top. (You can also mix the miso with it but it might break the leaves and flowers, so I prefer not to)

January 29, 2017

Canola – 菜の花

The season has come already for canola – 菜の花 – nanohana. They mark that we are now heading towards the coldest times of the year and slightly more gloomy. January is marked by beautiful weather and it moves slowly into more rainy days. The bright green of the leaves and yellow of the flowers are illuminating these cold days and given a very first taste of spring. They also offer a good green option to spinach and cabbage! They can be cooked in many different ways and are part of Japanese traditional preparation of the season. I’ve already presented a few different, not very classic, recipes with canola: a quiche, an omelet…

Today I tried a new preparation and used the canola as I would use broccoli or cauliflower. I prepared it with chickpeas (boiled before) and with carrots. I first cooked the carrots in a bit of olive oil, then added the chickpeas, a tsp of cumin powder, salt, pepper, then added the washed and cut canola, and cooked under cover for s few minutes until the green leaves become very bright. Then I just added a little of olive oil, stirred and served. That’s all!

January 19, 2017