Tag: mint

Zucchini season!

It’s been a long time since I last wrote here. I’ve been cooking as usual of course, but nothing that deserved a special entry. Until today. Inspired by a giant zucchini I bought for 100JPY at the farmers market, I decided to use it for a soup. I love mint and zucchini soup, and the mint is spreading at a very fast pace in the kitchen garden, so I was all set, until I realized that “just” a zucchini soup won’t make the trick for an active day, and we needed a little more.

But what…

I just had pork meat and opted for pork mint croquettes, and with a piece of bread left over a couple of croutons. Something that could be largely inspired by Italian meatball soup, but my way.

And it was damn delicious, so much that I really want to keep the recipe and do it again and again!!!

Zucchini meatball soup (2 servings)

  • 1 extra large zucchini or 2 normal size
  • Fresh mint (10 leaves)
  • 100g of ground pork
  • 23bs of panko
  • 1 egg
  • More fresh mint (10 leaves)
  • A piece of left over bread
  • A bit of oil for cooking
  • Salt and pepper

Wash and cut the zucchini, steam it until soft. In a blender, put the steamed zucchini, and 10 leaves of fresh mint rinsed. Blend until liquid. The soup is ready. Keep at room temperature.

In a bowl, chop 10 leaves of fresh mint, add salt and pepper, the ground meat, the egg, the panko. Stir well.

Heat a pan, add some oil for cooking, make bite size patties and cook them on both sides until golden.

Cut the bread in small bite size and toss them in the pan, turn until golden.

Serve the soup, add the meat balls and croutons and enjoy!

Making the meat balls.

2-way stuffed zucchini flowers

The last recipe from this little stay at my parents’ place. As I was telling you yesterday, my mother is really good at preparing zucchini flowers and she not only prepared tempura she also prepared stuffed zucchini flowers. One way is with cheese and mint (vegetarian; on the right of the picture), the other with only vegetables (100% vegan; on the left of the picture). Both are delicious and worth trying!

For the cheese stuffed recipe you need zucchini flowers, cheese like goat cheese, ricotta cheese or sheep cheese, fresh mint, a bitten egg, salt, pepper that’s all. Mix the cheese with chopped mint the bitten egg (you may need only half of it if you stuff only 4 to 6 flowers. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Wash softly the flowers and stuff them with the preparation, set then in oven dish. Bake until golden.

For the vegetables filled zucchini flowers you need zucchini flowers, a carrot, an onion and a small zucchini. Cut the vegetables in brunoise (small dice), in a heated pan with olive oil, cook the vegetables until golden and dry. Wash the flowers, stuff them with the brunoise. Set in an oven dish and bake until golden. Enjoy hot or atroom temperature.

Pre-talk lunch

During the winter I didn’t give many talks and plenty of new results came in, so when I was invited two weeks ago to Kyushu Institute of Technology and today to Tokyo Institute of Technology to give talks I wanted to include plenty of our new material and shape new talks. When I work on these kind of things I really enjoy being home, I am much more productive, focused and I memorize my talk very easily. Unfortunately it is not always possible for me to squeeze in this time during week days, so I often work on my talks on weekends. Recently I am managing my time much better than I used to (may be it’s the low tide after the panic of business from last year) and I can prepare my talks more calmly and better. And this means having lunch at home which is also really nice. I can cook simple things that are just the perfect food before giving a talk: light and energetic. Today, I went for a simple arrangement of steamed zucchini and couscous with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh mint from the terrace. Ready in 5min, but so delicious!

When A. is out

There are weeks like this week when we have westerners visiting for work as I was mentioning yesterday. This week actually both I and A. do have visitors and this means a lot of eating out, and usually working late (the regular work still has to be done, right?), so when the opportunity after a long day at work to dine at home (alone) finally arrives, it’s only to eat things I love, simple, fresh, and full of cheese that A. wouldn’t eat :)!
I was lucky to find beautiful tiny zucchini in Koganei and I had a few cherry tomatoes waiting in the fridge, I quickly roasted both of them in a hot pan, just a few minutes, I added pieces of mozzarella, the fresh juice of half a lemon, a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and went out on the terrace to cut some fresh mint, and my dinner was ready, together with a taste of summer!

Zucchini cold soup

Zucchni are delicious in soup hot or cold. In summer I prepare a cold soup with mint. For two I just boil a large zucchini with the skin (the skin gives a nicer color to the soup and it is full of nutriments, but only do that if you know your vegetables are grown without chemicals or organic). Then I smash the boiled zucchini with a fork until it looks like a puree (you can blend it too), add chopped fresh mint leaves, salt, pepper and olive oil. For a creamy taste you can add some greek style yogurt or some fromage blancBut I usually don’t. Keep in the fridge before serving with freshly grinded pepper and mint leaves. 

One-plate dinner

Days around Tokyo are getting warmer and the golden week (a few days of bank holidays in a row) is really beautiful this year!  A lot of fresh fruits and vegetables just bought at the local farmers market. With this beautiful weather we spend a lot of time outside and crave for fresh tasty meals, so I concocted this one plate for dinner: a bit of cucumber with fresh mint and fromage blanc; a fake ratatouille: just tomatoes, onion, zucchini stewed in olive oil with a bouquet garni; and to accompany the whole thing some chick pea flour and linen seeds pancakes. 

For the vegan chickpes pancake it’s really easy: just mixing chick pea flour with water, linen seeds and a bit of salt and olive oil to obtain a thick mixture that can be shaped in small pancakes with the hands. And then grill them or fry them in okive oil.

Bon appetite!

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