Fresh home-made food every day
There is one thing that I really love in the end of summer it’s figs. It is relatively easy to find beautiful purple figs in Japan and I usually cook them in tart. I use a very traditional and simple recipe with a classic dough sable and an almond powder base with very little sugar. It is always delicious with the crispiness of the dough and the sofness of the figs and the almond powder. I top it with a little of brown caster sugar for the perfect balance.
I usually shop everyday for diners and breakfasts when in Tokyo execpt for the fruits and vegetables I bring back from the country, but a few rare times I have an idea, shop for it and by the time I arrive home I have a new and better idea, or I remember there’s something that needs to be eaten first, or I just run out of time to prepare according to my original plan. So a few times I end up with a piece of tofu, herbs, a few vegetables that I need to prepare rather than having them in the fridge for ever.
This time I had a big piece of tofu, the left over celery from the ravioli, and a few cherry tomatoes. What best then preparing a tart with these ingredients. A simple sable dough with olive oil, a mixture of egg and tofu, a strict lining of tomatoes and a rough scattering of celery cut in pieces. In the oven for 30min, and a delicious dinner ready to enjoy!
It’s summer, it’s hot and still a bit humid, the farmers market is full of beautiful and ripped tomatoes, the last asparagus and green beans. And I was craving for a thin tart with a thin and crispy dough. So I prepared a brisee dough with 2/3 of chick pea flour and 1/3 of wheat flour, olive oil and water. In a large tart dish I set the dough and add raw asparagus, green beans and diced tomatoes, and finish with eggs mixed with a little of water, salt and a lot of grinded black pepper. Then bake for 20min in the oven at 210deg. Simply delicious!
Well, I had in mind to finish this zucchini week with a vegan zucchini tart but the weather has been playing against me, it’s the rainy season here in Japan and this year we had very few rain until this week. It’s been raining or rather pouring for the last 5 days so I have trouble finding vegetables at my local shops. On top of that we’ve decided to spend the week-end in Tokyo (museum frenzy and shopping spree) so no local farmers product from Isumi neither. All this to say that I’ve ran out of zucchini without even noticing! So instead of zucchini tart it’s gonna be apricot tart (luckily found some beautiful apricots from Nagano prefecture).
A simple homemade sable dough, an almond puree and vanilla custard, topped with fresh apricots, and blackberry all baked in the oven for 20min. Et voila!
For the zucchini tart, I hope next week I’ll find all I need to prepare it and give you my recipe! Have a nice Sunday!
In the very back of our garden we have a loquat tree. Most of the time it is impossible to eat any because the birds eat them much faster but this time I manage to save two! Loquats are a little lique apricots, but with a much milder taste and I really love to it them raw or prepare tart with them, just as apricot tart. Since two loquats is not going to be enough for a tart I decided to mix them with an apple and to make small tarts with just a brise dough with very little butter, oat bran, brown sugar and water, and add some apple sliced and half a loquat on top. This ultra simple recipe allows to fully enjoy each ingredient without any addition, the loquat brings a juicy note to the whole thing. The oat bran some granulosity to the dough without having to add an egg.
I’ve always loved oat bran, may be because I’m a horse girl and it reminds me when we were feeding the horses at the club, and sometimes trying the horse food (though I never tried hay!); or may be just because I love this kind of dry, little taste food. Anyway, I’ve been using oat bran often, and even more since I bake breads and even even more since I know that it is a good source of proteins and fiber. One of my favorite use of oat bran is in tarts dough. I gives a granulous consistency that fits perfectly with the sable of the dough and the softness of the vegetables and the egg custard.
Perfect with a rye or whole wheat dough, but even with plain white flour. Here is a butter based dough with oat bran, and the tart is garnished with green beans, brocoli and cherry tomatoes. I apply the dough in the pie dish directly with the fingers, so that explains the rough edges. A simple and delicious recipe for a late diner.
What is your favorite recipe with oat bran? I’d love to test it!
Since spring has decided to go away and winter is back, I wanted to eat a warm and thick mushrooms tart. I made the dough with buckwheat flour and olive oil (not an easy one to shape) and for the rest a mix of fresh shiitake, fresh sort of shimeji, a big block of silky tofu, 2 eggs and thyme. I put everything in a deep pie dish to obtain a thick tart, about 3cm high. All in the oven for 30min and ready to eat just out from the oven. Nothing too innovative but always a warming choice.
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| Coconut ad strawberry tart with a bit of coconut and ice sugar for the decor |
Chick pea flour is really easy to use. Mixed with some water and fried, you make soca, a little bit thicker you can make panisse. I love pies because they can prepared in advance and are handy when work is really busy. Today I wanted to try a pie dough with chick pea flour. I mixed chick pea flour, water, olive oil, salt and pepper to obtain a soft dough. I roughly shape it to my pie dish with ghe fingers. Then I’ve cut tomatoes and lined them on the bottom, cover with finely cut spinach, snd a batter of tofu and eggs season with cumin, and finish with a few tomato slices. Bake for 30 minutes and it smells so good… can’t wait to try it!!!
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