Butternut squash and pasta

I’ve been posting a lot about butternut squash these days, indeed it’s the pick season now before shifting to kabocha which taste is very different. And since I’ve been living alone in the past weeks, one butternut squash is a lot of food for one, so I’ve cooked it one way, an other, and an other… and tried to find new ones… Last night I came back late from work but at last the rain had stopped so I could walk home using a detour to enjoy being out. But it was really cold. I almost regretted not having a beanie. So I arrived home craving for something hot to eat. And I was pleased to find some leftover butternut squash soup in the fridge. Yet I was starving and it was not enough. So after browsing my cupboard and the fridge I opted for short pasta that I simply threw in the soup that was already boiling and I cooked 10-12 minutes until the pasta were soft and the soup has almost reduced to puree. I generously gratted fresh parmigiano on top and added black pepper. And I was very happy with it!!!

Vegan butternut squash soup (2 or 3 servings)

– 1/2 or 1/3 butternut squash

– 1 cup of soya milk

– salt and pepper

Peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds. Cut in pieces. Boil in 1L of water. Once soft enough, blend everything with the soya milk, salt and pepper. That’s it! It’s basically the same recipe as the cauliflower soup!

Then you can add the short pasta. I chose stelline. And cook them together in the soup. For a better result use fewer water to cook the butternut squash or as I did, use left over soup.

October 18, 2017

White asparagus with parmigiano cream

One ingredient again that is not that easily found in Japan and that you can find everywhere at farmers markets in France at this time of the year: white asparagus! Indeed, in Japan green asparagus are quite common but white are rather rare and most of the time imported, so I never buy some. But in France in spring it is really common.

One recipe I love that I tried when eating at Thoumieux (not the Brasserie, the Hotel Thoumieux restaurant) and prepared by chef Jean-Francois Piege, was white asparagus with just melted comte cheese. The dish was normally served with black truffle (a common pairing with white asparagus), which I don’t like so mine didn’t have it. And the balance between the creamy asparagus and the salty cheese was perfect. I really loved it. But white asparagus also go very well with creamy sauce. I had a delicious combination at Piere in Osaka the other day. But my mother had her own recipe that she taught me. Very simple, and a good combination: parmegiano cream! For that she first clean the asparagus and peel them, removing the hardest parts. Then simply steam them. In a little pan she warm some cream and add gratted parmegiano, about 1tbs per person. Once the parmegiano has melted she serves on the hot asparagus. Add a little bit of black pepper for the color if you want.

Now I am back to Paris, and hotel life so no more cooking in the next days..

April 13, 2017

Empty fridge cooking

Or what to do with 3 old branches of celery… because when the weekend comes I usually start to run out of fresh vegetables, waiting for the weekend in the countryside to refill. So last night my fridge was looking really sad with a few old branches of celery, a piece or parmigiano and a pack of gnocchi. But that was just enough and perfect for a late dinner. Boiling the celery and blending it to a thick cream, adding olive oil, salt and pepper. And serving with gnocchi and gratted parmegiano. Have a beautiful weekend!

January 28, 2017

Gnocchi & romanesco

When comes the end of the week (Thursday or Friday) our resources shopped the previous weekend in the country are almost all gone and only a few things remain. This week it was the case gor the romanesco. So beautiful but we had other things to eat first. So easy to prepare that it’s always perfect for late dinners. I tried the combination gnocchi-romanesco-Parmegianno and it was just sublime. As you may guess these are not homemade gnocchi unfortunately, but it work as well if you have some. Boil the gnocchi and 1min before they are ready add the romanesco in little bouquets. Serve altogether when the gnocchi are ready (they float in the water) add so freshly gratted Parmegianno (mine is a souvenir from our holidays in Italy), olive oil, salt and pepper. Enjoy right away.

January 30, 2016

Variation of the mushrooms tart

For a slightly more elegant plating, the mushrooms tart is also nice in individual little shapes, with simply the dough and the veggies on top. And served with a little kabocha purée in a Parmegiano millefeuilles.

The dough of the tart is again using a base of chesnut flour. For the kabocha purée I just washed and grilled under cover kabocha cut in pieces (with the skin), then mashed them with a fork. I then cut slices of vintage parmegiano and make layers of kabocha purée and parmegiano.

October 11, 2015

Basil and tomato ravioli

The basil in the garden seems to enjoy very much the rainy weather and it’s growing gigantic, so I went to cut some and was thinking about preparing a simple dish of pasta with basil and tomato. But then it turned out in a new ravioli recipe!

I peeled a large tomato (you’ll actually need 2 or 3) and then cooked in a pan with a tiny bit of olive oil and some salt, until I obtained something close to condensed tomato. While the tomato was getting ready I prepared my usual dough recipe (100g of flour, 1 egg, a bit of salt and olive oil) and washed the basil and chopped it, and added it to the dough. This why I didn’t add water in the dough, the moist came mainly from the basil. I knead well and then pass it in my pasta machine untill it was thin enough (7 on my machine). I prepared two versions one with plain tomato for my husband, and one parmegiano-tomato for me. I have some delicious vintage parmegiano brough from Italy, so I gratted some and mixed it with the tomato sauce. On the dough I lined a little quantity of filling, then lay an other layer of dough. And then made the ravioli. I am not very well equipped for making beautiful ravioli, so mine are pretty irregular. I just finally boiled them in salted and oiled water and served them with a little of olive oil. Super delicious. I was really surprised by how much we can appreciate the taste of the three ingredients: basil, tomato, parmegiano in my ravioli, a perfect balance that is usually not so easy to obtain with just tomato-basil pasta.

September 27, 2015

Beetroot risotto

Last year when we went back to France for Christmas we had several time beetroot, mainly in winter style salads, and I realized that in Japan this is not a common vegetable, just like fennel, kale or so many other vegetables that are common in the west (celery was hard to find a few years ago and outrageously expensive). So the other day when I spotted a beautiful beetroot I just couldn’t resist. But to be honest it was the first time ever I bought a beetroot! Back in the time we lived in Paris my mother in law would give me beetroot from her garden but she would cook them before. And usually I would prepare them in salad, since I’ve never been a big fan of it until last year!! I guess it is mainly due to the fact that in France the classic way is to boil or steam them and them make plain beetroot salads… It’s notvery attractive.

Well then, I ended up with a fresh beetroom, and it took me a couple of days to figure out what to do with it. First of all grilling it in the oven. I search for a few recipes, but them I decided to start with the simplest way: a small oven dish, the beetroot inside, baked at 180deg for about 80min. Then once cold I peeled it. Everywhere on the web I found recipes about goat cheese, beetroot, walnuts salad… Sounded nice to me but a little straighforward and anyway my husband don’t eat cheese and doesn’t really like walnuts unless it is in a delicious cake or cookie!!! So I passed this recommendation, next were soups and bortch… And finally I found a picture of a beetroot risotto: that’s it! I have bought the same day I bought the beetroot at Eataly a nice piece of vintage Parmegianno and a beautiful piece of pancetta. All set!

I used half a leek (the white part) cut in tiny pieces, and butter. Cut the pancetta and added it to the leek in the frypan. Once soft, I added a little more butter, the risotto, and finally added some chicken broth, and cooked until almost all the liquid was gone. I diced half of my beetroot and finally added it. When stirring the rice takes this beautiful pink color. I served and gratted the vintage Parmegianno on top.

I always find the pictures of risotto a bit strange. It's not a photogenic dish. No matter how much I tried, nothing would work... Need to work on my plating! How do you serve your risotto? — I always find the pictures of risotto a bit strange. It’s not a photogenic dish. No matter how much I tried, nothing would work… Need to work on my plating! How do you serve your risotto?

August 28, 2015