Tag: paprika

Gaspacho!!!

I used to prepare a lot of gaspacho in the past, using canned tomatoes… “in the past” was probably 15 or 20 years ago. Then I stopped buying canned tomatoes and never felt that the tomatoes in the supermarket were good enough for such a simple recipe that requires very good tomatoes… and then we started to buy tomatoes in Isumi, the giant very ripe ones, full of sun, flavor and sweetness, the perfect tomatoes for tomato sauce and gaspacho. So now I can make gaspacho again!!!

The recipe I make now is really ultra simple. Before I was using more ingredients in particular shallots, now I make it with only tomatoes and cucumbers, and add a bit of spices: paprika and chilly pepper, salt and olive oil. Here is my recipe for a cold and refreshing starter for the summer that you is best prepared a few hours or more before and kept refrigerated until serving.

Gaspacho (4 medium size servings)

– 3 large ripe tomatoes

– 1 small cucumber

– 2 tbs of olive oil

– 1 tsp of paprika

– 1/4 tsp of chilly powder

– salt and pepper

Boil some water and boil the tomato 30 to 60s to peel them. Peel and cut roughly the tomatoes. Wash and cut roughly the cucumber. In a blender mix all the vegetables until liquid. Add the spices, salt and pepper. Keep refrigerated. When serving add olive oil, stir and serve.

Enjoy the summer!!!

Corn

Despite a very busy week at work, I wanted to try preparing some nice food, simple but nice… and because we haven’t been to the country, I still had to adjust to what I could find in Tokyo’s supermarkets. One thing I found that was nice was fresh corn… something I don’t cook to often because I totally lack of imagination when it comes to cooking corn. Luckily I was browsing a cooking magazine in the train and found a nice recipe of a creamy corn soup (one of the classic use of corn), with rolled asparagus in bacon. I had corn, I had asparagus, I had bacon, I didn’t want to prepare a creamy soup… but the combination inspired me for a new recipe of pasta.

Orecchiette with corn and asparagus (for 2 people, main dish)

– 120g of orecchiette

– 1 fresh corn

– 4 slices of bacon

– 2~4 green asparagus

– olive oil

– paprika powder

– chili powder

– salt and pepper

I boiled one corn and then I shuck it. In a pan I simply grilled some bacon cut in pieces, added the corn and when the bacon was golden added some chopped asparagus, a tsp of paprika, a bit of chili powder, salt and pepper.
Then I boiled the pasta, drained them, added them to the sauce and stirred well, adding a bit of olive oil, and served to eat right away!

Mini vegan burgers

Oops! I did it again!  with some leftover boiled lentils I had, I made some vegan burgers!!! Well or some sort of burgers because I use my seed preparation as the base of my burgers and then just add a spread of avocado to glue them together. This time I was running out of time so I couldn’t blend the lentil to puree, so I used the whole boiled lentils, flax seeds, and a handfull of vegan burger mix to have some texture to work with. I assume that some flour of any kind would work as good. Added some warm water and worked it into a sticky paste. Then I added a tea spoon of paprika, a bit of chili pepper, and a bit of all spice. I finally formed small patties (4-5cm of diameter) that I cooked in a frypan greased with olive oil at low-medium heat until crispy and brownish. For the spread I used one avocado ripe and soft that I roughly pureed with a knife, the added chopped fresh coriander, salt, pepper and curcuma (tumeric)  powder. Once the patties are well-done I topped them with the spread and pile two of them in a plate. Add some blanched fresh green peas and a 1/2 Japanese cucumber diced. Enjoy the soon coming weekend!!! 

Tex-Mex quiche

I know that sounds a bit odd but the recipe of this quiche uses influences from western tex-mex cuisine. I first used corn flour for the dough, mixed with half white flour. Then for the base I used 3 eggs and a block of firm tofu, 1 capiscum (paprika) diced and 1 tomato; and some texmex mix of spices. I prepare a sable dough, roll it to 1mm and prepare a pie dish. In a bowl I mix the tofu (drained of course) the eggs and the spices, add the diced capiscum and set in the dough, slice the tomato and add on top. Bake 40min at 160deg.

Cocotte

I always buy pork from Isumi when possible, for it is really tender and soft. My preference: pork belly (豚バラ – butabara) for the taste (but I only eat it when it’s ultra cooked and the fat has melted, and it’s all crispy) and pork filet (ヒレ – hire) because there is no fat and it’s really tasty. With the cold weather lasting a bit too long, I’ve opted for a nice cocotte of veggies with pork filet and pork belly for two meals in one preparation. In my Staub cocotte I first put a little of olive oil, then line the slice of pork belly, then I’ve cut 8 little carrots in halves and added them, 6 big shiitake sliced thickly, a piece of lotus root sliced thinly, one yellow paprika sliced. Plenty of thyme and fresh rosemary, salt pepper and the pirk filet. I cooked under cover for 45min and stirred every 15min. I served only the veggies and the pork belly for lunch, and kept the filet for an other meal. I kept the whole cocotte as such because I wanted to keep the juice for some pasta also (I just boiled some anneli siciliani that I rolled in the juice and keep to serve with the filet).

Cucumber cold soup

With all the nice cucumber I got from K. I imagine I should try to use as many as possible quickly. We usually eat a lot of cucumbers just raw cut in stick as snack while I cook dinner. This time to use a little more cucumber I prepared a cold soup by just blending 3 cucumbers with a bit of cold water, olive oil, salt and pepper. I finish it with a line a paprika.

Vegetables and tofu wok

As spring fades away and summer approaches (and with it the rainy season) I’ve started to prepare a lot more dishes that look like ratatouille or at least that use the vegetables of the ratatouille.  

I prepared a sauted dish in olive oil of new onion, paprika, zucchini and tomatoes, added some dices tofu and topped it with some fresh cresson and a mix of linen, poppy, sesame seeds. Very fresh, the vegetables don’t need to be cooked long, so this can be ready in no time.

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