Tag: pasta

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!!

Shoyu pasta

There are recipe stories that are longer than others and that reflect how “agile” I manage my cooking!!! Last week I was telling you how much I love new onions and that you will see more recipes with them because I had in mind to prepare some ravioli filled with new onion. Everything was clear in my head and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Sunday late afternoon taking a break from work I went to my kitchen to prepare the pasta dough. Not the classic one, my ravioli would be infused with Japanese flavors. So I made a soya sauce pasta base. Then I started thinking of the filling and boiled a potato to smooth the filling that would consist in chopped new onion slightly cooked in a pan with katsuobushi flakes. And while the potato was boiling I went back to work and worked worked worked, with our new stray cat all cuddled on my laps… and I forgot the potato, time and preparing dinner. At almost 21:00 A. reminded me that we should actually go back to Tokyo… oups… nothing was ready and it was too late to start making ravioli. So we ate the potato, I packed my pasta dough, my new onions and we drove back to the city.

Monday night I came back home around 22:00 and it was really not a descent hour to make ravioli… I knew it… so I decided to roll my pasta manually and make tagliatelle and use the onion just as a topping. The result was so awesome that I am now thinking of making it a new entry to the Soya sauce contest…

Here is what I did:

Soya sauce pasta

– 1egg

– 120g of flour

– 3tbs of soya sauce

– 1 new onion

– 2-3 shiitake

In a bowl knead the flour, soya sauce and egg together to make the pasta dough. Keep for 1h.

Roll the pasta, and make tagliatelle.

Wash the vegetables and slice them. In a pan greased with a bit of oil, throw the vegetables and cook at low heat. Boil the pasta and drain them. Add to the vegetables, stir well, serve and eat immediately. You can add a bit of grilled pork to the vegetables…

New onions

As soon as the first new onions appear I have to cook some! The season just started and will last a few weeks, hopefully 6 or 10, and you will see a lot of new onion recipes, even maybe a whole week if work give me the time to post that often. New onions are soft, melting in the mouth, with a very sweet taste. Incomparable and inimitable. I love to cook them in spring vegetables mix, in Japanese style, in quiche… But to start simply, I used my new onions in a simply pasta sauce together with ashitaba. I simply remove the external layer, cut in quarters and cook in a bit of olive oil. Add chopped fresh ashitaba, add some more olive oil, salt and pepper and serve with pasta. Top or not with fresh Parmigiano. Wasn’t that recipe too simple?

Tofu

I am a big fan of tofu… most of you may say that tofu is an insipid, watery, white thing, but it is actually much more than that. I was convinced very quickly when we went to a tofu restaurant near Nezu (we used to live in Nezu) the very first months we lived in Tokyo. There was tofu in every single dish of the kaiseki course menu and it was amazing to discover all you can do with tofu. After that of course we’ve been to many other tofu restaurants, and for the scenery (though they serve not so much tofu actually) Ukai, at the foot of the Tokyo tower is without mistake a great pick. And regarding the preparation of tofu I learned a lot thanks to my cha-kaiseki classes. On thing that is always important is to drain hard tofu (momen tofu – 木綿豆腐) well. But what I realized recently is that a very well drained tofu, when heated in a pan for a short time ressembles ricotta in texture, without the milky taste. Perfect for A. who doesn’t like the taste of cheese and for me who live cheese. We have a compromise!

That’s how I’ve stared using very well drained tofu in many preparation where I may have used cheese. So, how does that work?

Drained tofu, rucola, shiitake for ravioli filling

You need to cutting boards, and a clean cloth. First start draining the tofu by pressing it between the two boards. Slightly incline the bottom one towards the sink, put the second on on top with a non breakable weight… anything you can find in the kitchen… I use miso packs or flour packs. Leave for an hour or so. Gravity will do the work.

Then put the tofu in the clean cloth and gently knead while squeezing to take the water of. Don’t be scared of squeezing hard. Once done you should obtain a rather dry to creamy texture. That’s it! Now you can use it in traditional Japanese recipes such as tofu balls with vegetables (I’ll post a recipe about that when the edamame season will arrive), or as I do, in replacement of ricotta, in quiches, in ravioli, or in pasta sauce, in salad…

Filled ravioli

Last night I used the same drained tofu for a simple pasta recipe. I had fresh and tender radish tops, and beautiful fresh anchovies and prepared penne. After draining the tofu and washing the greens I cooked them in a pan at low heat. I boiled the pasta and drained. Add to the greens and tofu, add salt, pepper and olive oil. In a small pan I grill the anchovies, add a few drops of olive oil. Served in the plates and enjoyed. That’s it, simple right?

The only issue is that draining tofu is a bit tedious, and takes time, so if you don’t have much cooking time, I recommend starting draining in the morning, by using a tea pot and a tea filter and leave in the fridge, by night it should be almost perfect.

When I fail… 🚮

Once in a while I make a cooking failure… recently it hasn’t happened much because I master better my kitchen and the products I cook, and I have gained in skills a lot. But when it happens it is always very sad… and last night was one of this saddening moment when you have to face that what you have made with patience and love should end in the trash and nowhere else…

As often of Sunday evening I wanted to bake a quiche. Something I master but it was without counting on one ingredient… I had spinach and kabocha and wanted to use both. I thought that with this cold outside, a warming chestnut flour pie crust would be perfect. So I reached for the bin in the fridge in which I store chestnut flour. I keep most of my flours in the fridge and more particularly this fragile flour that is sensitive to pest infestation and that I cannot find easily in Japan. I usually get my chestnut flour from my parents when they travel to Corsica, or to the country house in the Cevennes.

I was a bit startled by the smell when I opened the bin, but I was just thinking it’s been a while I haven’t smelled chestnut flour and it smells strong… while preparing the dough with olive oil and love things were doing good, the dough was smooth and easy to roll, perfect! I prepared the vegetables and put everything in the oven… and then only I really understood what I feared… the flour was rancid… I didn’t know it could happen but there was no doubt and a quick check on the internet confirmed my diagnosis. I waited until the whole quiche was baked to taste the pie crust. No doubt. The rancid flavor stay in the mouth long, almost disgusting. A. was also trying and same conclusion. Now what… would we die eating rancid baked chestnut flour? Probably not… would we get sick? Maybe… for sure taste wise it was bad. I first decided to save the vegetables and remove the pie crust but the task was tedious, and the result not conclusive. So I had to take this horrible decision to trash the whole thing. I was sad after. All these nice products, the effort to prepare it, and the expected pleasure of eating it once back to Tokyo… and instead we had a very quickly fixed dinner made of whole-wheat spaghetti with grilled swordfish and lemon zest and olive oil dressing. Hopefully there are still a few lemons in the garden and I harvested some before going and I had bought some nice local swordfish Saturday…

I simply grilled the fish in a frypan without any fat, then added the zest of 1/2 lemon topped with olive oil. Boiled the whole wheat spaghetti and served the whole together.

Ravioli with Japanese flavors

By now you must know that I love ravioli, that I love both making and eating them. With the end of year/new year holidays in Japan, most of the farmers market were off until today, so I had to buy some long lasting vegetables that would last 7-10 days and enough for having friends at home and unscheduled meals to cook, just in case… so I packed on shiitake, spinach, sweet potatoes, daikon, cabbages and carrots mainly. So when I wanted to make ravioli I was a bit falling short of options at first… but then I decided to use the ravioli recipe I learned in Florence last year: a base of potato and a sauce with mushrooms. I just twisted the recipe enough to make it Japanese style: filling of Japanese sweet potato and soya sauce, and the sauce with shiitake, spinach and a bit of grilled pork for those who like it. The result was really up to my expectations, even though I could have added a little more soya sauce. But each vegetable flavor and texture was remarkable and I and A. were both very happy with the result. So here is my recipe:

Sweet potato ravioli (2-4 servings depending on serving size, for it was 4)

For the pasta as usual:

– 100g of flour

– 1egg

– a bit of olive oil, a bit of salt

Mix all and knead until soft. Wrap and leave to rest for 30-90min.

For the filling:

– 2 medium sweet potatoes

– 2tbs of soya sauce

Boil them, when soft, drain, peel, and mash. Add a bit of water if too dry.

For the sauce:

– 1 bundle of spinach

– 4-6 large shiitake

– olive oil to your liking

– thin slices of pork if you like

Wash the vegetables, chop the spinach and slice the shiitake. In a heated pan with olive oil cook the vegetables, add the pork if you want. Add a bit of water if too dry. Keep.

Roll the dough and fill the ravioli. I used a 12-ravioli rack which has fairly large size ravioli (the dough quantities make for two racks: 24 ravioli). Mezze lune are also easy to make as in the recipe here. Fill them and boil them. Once they come to the surface take them out and add to the sauce. It doesn’t matter if a bit of cooking water comes too, on the contrary. Stir gently to cover the ravioli with the sauce and serve to eat right away.

Xmas approaching

Except for some Xmas decorations and tangerine, pompe a l’huile and panettone I am not a big fan of Christmas. This time of forced happiness, of forced making presents and receiving some, the bad timing with my birthday following just after… no really… I could easily pass. And pass on the weeks before too starting early in November when each family member asks you what you want for Xmas… like I needed anything… I prefer more spontaneous family gatherings than that one, presents made when something nice has been found or is needed. A nice time spent together on no particular occasion. Traveling to the Mediterranean is at least for me a not so bad way to spend the holidays and I definitely miss not traveling to Italy this year, as I already mentioned. This year, with the many circumstances we will spend Xmas eve on the plane on our way back to Tokyo… but way back means that we are going somewhere… indeed before that, we will fly to Paris for the weekend to spend a pre-xmas with our families all gathered in Paris for the occasion. The good point of flying for such a short time is that you don’t have to bother with jetlag and family is happy… Even if it is only for a short time we are away, I prefer to eat simple and delicious food before going to Paris, as the food when eating out is often too much for me. I love conchiglie and in particular with thinly chopped spinaches, when they can hide inside the pasta with a bit if olive oil. Last time I prepared some with bacon and ricotta, this time I used fresh anchovies. The anchovies prepared for sashimi are perfect, the are clear of bones and just need to be cooked. I first blanched the spinach, then chop them, I boil the pasta, and in a pan with olive oil I cook the anchovies and add the spinach, finish with the pasta, salt and pepper. It is really simple and rapid.

Harbor market

Every Sunday morning from 8 to 12 there is a “harbor market” at Ohara fishing harbor. We don’t go very often because the main attractions there are fresh shellfish grilled on the spot, and there are more stalls that have ready to eat food than truly food to buy to take home and prepare. But once in a while, in particular in winter when it is much less crowded we like to go and check it out.

This time I had in mind to buy some ricotta from a local cheese farm, not Takahide, because they don’t make ricotta (and they don’t come to the market anymore) to make ravioli for lunch… a simple picture on IG had the instant effect of me wanting ravioli for lunch… craving… and because there is not much to do in the garden right now I can spend more time in my kitchen!

Not only did I find the ricotta I wanted but also some nice konbu and katsuobushi. I will write later about these two once I will start using them. So back to the ravioli: spinach-pork for A. and spinach-pork-ricotta for me. Prepared with whole wheat flour, and served only with olive oil, salt and pepper. We were so hungry and happy to have ravioli that I just forgot to take a decent shot of them. A. took a rapid one when I was about to through the last one in the water…

For the recipe, as usual for the pasta: 1egg, 100g of whole wheat flour, a bit of water. For the filling, I cooked 100g of ground pork meat with chopped spinach, added salt and pepper for A. and for mine added 2tbs of ricotta. That’s it! I rolled the dough manually and made half-moon ravioli for A. and flowers for me so that we knew which is what when serving.

Radish tops and salmon ravioli

Ravioli have always been in the very top of my preferred dish ever both to eat and cook. For me to enjoy them, they have of course to be fresh and with a green and tasty filling. Ricotta spinach are of course a classic that I enjoy all the time, but seasonally filled ravioli are always something I like to prepare and enjoy. With the autumn salmon in peak season and the beautiful radishes also, I decided to use super fresh and tender radish tops, simply blanched with grilled salmon as filling. The radish tops have a nice flavor that is very different from other greens. I already tried with spinach and dill in the past. And because it is nice for the final cooking and the final plating to have a little of a sauce I prepared a butter and pink peppercorns sauce. Here is my recipe:

Radish tops and salmon ravioli

For the pasta I used my usual recipe (1 egg for 100g of flour), but I used half of “semolina di grano duro” instead of regular flour.

For the filling:

– 100g of radish tops

– 100g of fresh salmon

– pink peppercorns

– 15g of butter

– salt and pepper

I first grilled the salmon and blanched the radish tops. Then once they had cooled down I chopped the tops thinly and crumble the salmon together, stir well, add a bit of salt.

Then I make the ravioli, rolling the pasta as thin as possible. I didn’t use a ravioli rack, but cut the dough with a medium round shape and used two to make one ravioli. In your left palm hold a small round of pasta, with the right finger, moisten in a glass of water moisten the edge of the pasta. Set half or more tea spoon of filling, then take an other round of pasta and close tight removing the air as much as possible.

Then I boiled the ravioli. In the meantime in a large pan I melted the butter, added the pink peppercorns and when the ravioli were coming out to the surface I catch them and add them to the pan. It is fine if there is still some cooking water with them. At hight heat I finished cooking them in the pan and served with a little of salt and pepper added.

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