Fava beans gyoza

I could have started a “fava beans week” and write everyday a new recipe using them, whether Japanese, Italian or French… but I was alone these days, A. traveling again for work, and my work is kind of busy… a lot of things have suddenly started to move forward since February, after months if not years waiting for that… yet everything decided to move at the same time so my hands are more than full… but I cannot complain too much, can I? So the fave beans week ended up being nothing… sorry for that, but you can check my past recipes here and here.

But while work keeps me busy, it doesn’t prevent for my mind to wander and invent new recipes. And this recipe is something that I have thought about for quite a bit now. I first thought about ravioli, but guessed it would be too common, and reminding myself (1) how much we love gyoza; (2) how delicious the butternut gyoza I made were; (3) how easy it is to make, I could only try.

Let me share with you this delicious recipe!

Fava beans gyoza (makes about 16 pieces)

For the gyoza dough:

– 50g of bread flour

– 50g of pastry flour

– a pinch of salt

– 50cl of tepid water

For the filling:

– 20 pods of large fava beans

– salt and pepper

For the dressing:

– 20 sansho leaves (kinome) or a small piece of fresh ginger

– 2tsp of soya sauce

– 3tsp of olive oil

Prepare the dough by mixing the ingredients. Make a ball and leave to rest for 30min.

In the meantime boil the fava beans and peel them. Crush them and add salt and pepper.

Chop finely the kinome leaves (or the ginger if you use ginger). In a small bowl mix with the soya sauce and the olive oil.

Now 30min should have passed. Make a stick with the dough and cut in 16 equal parts. Make 16 small balls, and roll them in a 1mm thick round of dough.

I each round set a tsp of the crushed fava beans and close the gyoza with a bit of water on each side of the dough.

In a large greased frypan, add about 5mm of water and cook at high heat the gyoza. When the water is gone reduce a bit the heat and then flip the gyoza.

Serve with the dressing in a side bowl to dip them in. Enjoy!!

May 30, 2019

Spring greens

My kitchen garden seems to be doing ok! Every week I harvest something, and recently it’s been focused on snap peas and herbs. Two plants of peas actually have been producing a handful of snap peas every week, which is just the perfect amount for us so far, as I used them mixed with other vegetables. The mint and coriander are doing good and I’ve harvesting quite some too for daily use, same with some kind of salads my neighbor gave me (we exchange crops). I like the idea to just walk down in the garden and pick what is needed for preparing a meal. I’ve also checked that potatoes are coming, though I am worried the soil may be too rich… we’ll see… it’s not easy to be a beginner gardener and not to be able to check every day!!! I’ll learn from my mistakes and successes I guess and do better next year!

With all this greens, not only from my kitchen garden but also from the farmers market I was thinking of new recipes and inspired by Giula’s zucchini and saffron pasta recipe (that was super delicious) I prepared a fava beans and greens pasta sauce. The kind that is so delicious that you want more!!! Here’s my recipe.

Fava beans pasta (for two servings)

– 125g of dry penne or macaroni or some similar pasta

– a handful of fresh fave beans shelled

– a handful of fresh snap peas

– a handful of green beans

– a handful of shelled greens peas if you have some (I couldn’t wait and already had eaten up all mine!!)

– 5-10 leaves of fresh mint

– olive oil, salt and pepper

Boil the pasta. When al dente drain and keep.

In the meantime, blanche the fava beans and peel them. Blanche the green beans, the green beans and the snap peas. Puree the fava beans, add olive oil generously, salt and pepper. In a large pan at low heat, heat the fava beans purée and then add the pasta, and the other vegetables, stir well, add the mint washed and chopped. Serve and eat immediately!!

Have a great week!!

May 26, 2019

Horse beans cold soup

Spring vegetables are getting close to the end of the season and we’re moving towards summer vegetables: zucchini, tomatoes, eggplants, melons… but before it ends, I wanted to eat a little bit more of these greens! I love so much green peas and horse beans. With the horse beans I prepared a cold soup with some croutons. It is a very simple recipe, but really delicious. Of course peeling the horse beans can be a bit of time consuming but personally I love this kind of tasks. Once it is peeled simply blend with a bit of water, add salt and pepper, if you like a spoon of yogurt, and top with freshly made fried croutons (recipe is available here). Isn’t that simple?

Have a beautiful week!

June 4, 2017

Two way meal

Or two recipes with the same ingredients. One the original version and the second a leftover version. Both delicious and easy to prepare. The original recipe is a Japanese one: rice with green peas and red miso grilled cod. This recipe is made with simple and easy to find fresh ingredients. You need fresh cod filet, red miso (work with other miso if you can’t find red one), Japanese rice, a handful of green peas. Additionally I served also horse beans and green beans just blanched, but optional. Cook the rice in a rice cooker or in a regular pan. Add the green peas about 7min before the end of cooking. With a flexible knife spread 1tbsp of miso evenly on the fish (opposite to skin side). In a heated pan or in the oven grill the miso side of the fish. Serve when cooked to your liking. I served the fish on top of the horse beans and the green beans on the side.

With the leftovers of rice and fish I decided to make some rice croquettes, something between arancini and accras. I mixed the rice with green peas with the fish, added one egg, a little of flour and pan fry them until golden. Served with a fresh lettuce and tomatoes salad.

Have a great weekend!

June 2, 2017

D-9 before the opening!

As many of you may know, I’m a roboticist, cooking is just a hobby. I am the head of 20 people research lab in a national university in Tokyo. Just google me to check!! My days are pretty full with my job but I can’t help doing more than my shre and taking opportunities to do new things, to learn new things. This time, as I mentioned before, I am leading the preparation of an exhibition at our science museum where some colleagues and me will exhibit some of our research work. This keeps me even more busy: preparing the website, thinking about the layout, the exhibits… I’m hoping to make something where people entertain themselves while they learn about human and robots. And the opening is only in 9 days, or almost 8 now, and there is so much left to do!!! Obviously my cooking time has decreased significantly and it is rather simple comfy food that I prepare. I use a lot of legumes these days, because they are versatile, nourishing and easy to accommodate with vegetables. I prepared a simple warm soup with peas, lentils and barley, added a big tomato, a carrot, and finished with some fava beans. Topped with or without cheese. Dimply delicious, and ready to continue working!!!

May 18, 2017

Lentil vegan one-plate

With a fridge almost empty because I long to go shopping at the countryside farmers market, I’m using up my stock of seeds, beans, lentils… and just add some fresh blanched vegetables and raw sprouts. It perfectly suits the super warm weather toeat some light and fresh meals, just seasoned with salt, curcuma and olive oil. For this one plate meal I used French green lentils cooked al-dente, blanched baby spinachs and peeled and blanched horse beans. I topped the lentils with fresh sprouts and added some sunflower seeds to add some some crispy texture. So very simple and delicious!

April 19, 2017

Soumen primavera

I can’t believe that yesterday I was preparing soumen with spring vegetables and that today I dream of a hor rich soup. Yesterday was spring today is winter! Anyway, spring is just to arrive for sure soon, so a little spring recipe is always good, in particular when it’s that simple and tasty. I have received soumen-素麺, thin wheat noodles from a colleague and I prepared them in my primavera style: tons of greens, fried tofu, a little bit of soya sauce. That’s it!

I used fava beans (blanched), asparagus (blanched), cucumber and fresh chopped coriander. Thick fried tofu heated in a pan and a few mm of water to remove some of the oil. And the simply boiled soumen. For the dressing soya sauce cut with dashi or water. Have a nice weekend!

March 31, 2017

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!!

March 8, 2017

Greens and flounder

In Japan, fish is really delicious and it is not so difficult to find fresh wild fishes from safe places. Spending time in Chiba’s prefecture Sotobo we have access to really amazing products, when the weather allows it. Recently flounder has been really abundant. And with my parents visiting us I must prepare a lot more non vegetarian food than usual. So I prepared this flounder just grilled, with fava, beans and snap peas for lunch on the wok with olive oil. Very simple, fresh and seasonal, all I love!

May 19, 2015