Yuzu pompe à l’huile

Hello my friends!!!

It’s been a long time, right! Well the blog is not dead at all, I just encountered technical issues between the web hosting and wordpress and finally A. solved the problem for me!

So I am back!!!

There has been quite a few recipes I wanted to share here, but they have become obsolete since the ingredients are not seasonal any more. All the beautiful foods from the autumn are gone and now it’s getting really cold and winter mode, with leeks, daikon, cabbages. And because it is right before Christmas I am baking pompes a l’huile every weekend.

Since the first I made in 2015 and the recipe I used then, things have evolved a little. I solely use citrus fruits, and more than often yuzus from the garden, which I didn’t have back then. Also I don’t use yeast anymore, it’s been 3 years now I have started using sourdough. The result is amazingly delicious!!! I have also become much better at rolling and shaping. Back in 2015 I was rolling it too thin.

Pompe a l’huile

200g of flour
20g of sourdough
80g of olive oil
30g of sugar
6g of salt
The zest of a yuzu (can be replaced by orange or any other citrus fruit)
The juice of the yuzu (same, can be replaced by any other citrus fruit)
Water

In a large bowl stir all the ingredients but water. Add water little by little while kneading until the dough is smooth and can form a ball. Let rest for a few hours in a warm place. The dough don’t rise much usually, but you should feel it has changed consistency.

Roll in a circle about 30-35cm and make the cuts.

Bake at 200C for 18-20min or until lightly golden.

I think it is almost impossible that this recipe goes wrong!

December 23, 2023

Quenelles…

That’s something I haven’t cooked for 4 years!!! Can you believe that??? The last time I made some was for that post back in 2016!!! And then… nothing… strange enough because (1) I like quenelle very much, (2) it’s not difficult to make, (3) it requires only simple ingredients I always have in the pantry… So with the weather getting chillier it was a good time for turning the oven on more than usual.

I used the recipe from my previous post and slightly adjusted it, it is for regular quenelles, they don’t become very fluffy… I still don’t know how to make them fluffier, I need to work on it. But even not fluffy it tastes great. This time also I used fresh cream, but I realized once again (I rarely use cream so I have a tendency to forget) that Japanese fresh cream sold in supermarkets is not very good for oven cooking, it dries out and only the fat remains, which looks buttery and not creamy anymore… Milk to cook the quenelles first and adding the cream later is probably a better solution…

Still here is the recipe adjusted.

Quenelles (2-3 servings)

For the quenelles

150 flour
2 eggs
50g of butter
a pinch of salt and nutmeg

For the sauce

6 large shiitake or the equivalent of other simple mushrooms
4tsp of fresh cream (if you like it) or olive oil can work…
1 cup of milk
salt and pepper

In a pan the butter. Heat until the butter has melted. Add the flour, and cook at low heat for 8min. If you have a hard time mixing in all the flour add a few drops of water.

The final dough after cooking and smoothing

Cool down a bit and add the eggs, the salt, the nutmeg, and stir well. You should obtain a smooth dought that doesn’t stick. If it sticks add a little more flour, if too dry add a bit of water. Cut the dough in 8 pieces and form the quenelles as shown in the picture below. Boil a large amount of water and poach the quenelles until they float.

Set in an oven dish, add the milk. Wash and slice the mushrooms, add to the whole. If you use fresh cream (not Japanese) add it now. Add salt and generously add pepper. Pre heat the oven at 200 degrees. And bake for 30min. At 20min add the cream (if you use Japanese cream). They get golden brownish on the top when ready. Serve and eat immediately.

October 24, 2020

Artichokes

One of the food I miss much in Japan as you already know, is artichoke. For some reason it is something that reminds me my childhood. From the simply boiled large ones that one of my grand mother would prepare to eat one leave after the other dipped in mustard vinaigrette, or the tiny purple artichokes barigoule of my mother or a recipe from my other grand mother “greek style artichokes” I love them all. When we lived in Paris I used to prepare some quite often and the greek style artichokes were always a good pick for casual dinners. When we go back home, my mother always prepare artichokes for me, usually for the very first day when we arrive, since they can be made in advance, and they are very good warm or cold it means lunch or dinner is always ready for us to eat anytime. Yesterday for a family lunch she made artichokes greek style. I thought I’d share that recipe today.

Artichoke greek style (for 2)

– 10 large artichokes (in worst case artichokes heart preserves)

– 10 bell onions

– 1 tbs of coriander seeds

– 2 leaves of laurel

– a branch of thyme

– 3 tbs of olive oil

– 3tbs of white wine (optional)

Boil the artichokes and extract the hearts.

Clean the bell onion by peeling one layer.

In a large pan put the olive oil, the wine, the artichokes hearts, the onions, the coriander, thyme, laurel. Add just a bit of salt and pepper, cover with water and cook at low heat under cover for 40min.

Perfect eaten with fresh rustic bread to enjoy all the delicious juice.

December 25, 2019

How quick…

Not enough time to do all the things I want to do… and in a snap it’s already mid December…

Busy days follow busy days… the excitement of all the things I do leaves me quite resourceless and for the first time in quite a while I feel tired. Tired of so many things undone, tired of running after time, tired because of too little sleep. I am normally a heavy sleeper. If I dont sleep 7-8h I physically can feel it and I am underperforming. For the first time in quite a while I had a nap on Saturday afternoon. It was rainy and cold, perfect to just let it go… Just 20min but my body and my mind were craving for it. It gave me new strength to start again!

I started by baking pompes a l’huile for ourselves and to give away to friends. December is definitely the time to bake pompes a l’huile, this Provence traditional sweet bread we eat for Christmas. And it’s really easy to make and bake, and so easy to eat, so making several at the same time is probably a good idea!

The recipe is quite simple. I posted it quite some time ago. I made a few variation this time. Used a little less olive oil (believe it or not, I ran out of olive oil!!!) and I used the zest of a tangerine from the garden!

This was a great success! Everyone loves pompe a l’huile!!!

December 11, 2019

Panisse

Probably very few of you know what panisse are… you only know if you’ve been to Provence long enough or have a specific interest in regional cooking… Panisse are an other traditional recipe based on chickpea flour and that cones from Italy apparently, but is also famous as far as Marseille. I’ve already shared the recipe of socca from Nice, panisse are something different. They are thicker and fluffier. Most recipes I’ve found are just using the same ingredients as socca but cook it in a pan with a lot more water, and then wait for it to cool down before frying them. I wasn’t too happy with these recipes and tried one I found in one of my vegetarian cookbook. The reason I was interested in that recipe is because you need to add a bit of baking soda to the mix… and you can cook it immediately and eat it immediately too. I still cooked it in a frypan like the socca but it resemble a giant fluffy pancake.

So here is my recipe.

Panisse

– 100g of chickpea flour

– a pinch of salt

– 1tbs of olive oil

– 1tsp of baking powder

– water

In a bowl mix all the ingredients and add water little by little until the mix is thick but not dry.

Heat a frypan of 15cm diameter, grease slightly with olive oil, pour the mix and cook at low heat, under cover, until it’s almost dry on top. Flip, and cook 2more minutes. Cut and eat!

You can use a lot more oil when cooking the panisse, but this is not mandatory… you can also add a bit of salt after too… enjoy!

September 10, 2019

Lozère

Hello there!!! You may have wondered where I was all this time… well… after another crazy busy week in Tokyo, a rapid stop in Paris, and a long drive, I was in Anilhac in my parents country house to celebrate their 50´s wedding anniversary. The house is not equipped with internet and there is no 3G or 4G coverage there either. So obviously I had to be disconnected for a while. After that I went straight to Germany for work and now I’m finally on my way back to Paris for a last stop for work before heading home… pfiou…

Being disconnected from my phone wasn’t a big deal to be honest… I can totally live without it and days in Anilhac we’re actually busy with hiking, flying and very little cooking as mom had planned everything… I only made pancakes for the whole family one morning…

Lozère is not very famous for food and staples: the most well known products are chestnuts from Cevennes, cheeses made of sheep milk, honey, wild berries, and wheat… that’s probably it… it’s a very barren region, with tough winters and dry summers, very poor. Mostly sheep and shepherds. Actually, the house is a former sheep house my parents transformed 45 years ago in a country house.

Life for me in Anilhac is about being outside, hiking, reading and drawing by the fireplace, then having meals all together.

Meals there are usually simple… a very lot of cheeses for me (this place is cheese heaven!!), and some cured meat for A., fresh vegetables from the neighboring kitchen gardens, and some wild fruits from the garden or harvested during the hikes: plums, hazelnuts, blackberries… oh… and braised potatoes of course! Baked in the embers of the fireplace.

Oh! And my parents had a surprise for us: I finally managed to fly a glider from le Chanet airfield… it was quite an experience… after seeing my sister doing it 37 years ago, and always wanted to try…

August 25, 2019

Brandade

Probably the last recipe of this potatoes week. I could have talked about gnocchi (but I have so many times done already), about hachis parmentier, or oven grilled potatoes, and I may some other times. But it’s true that with new potatoes I love simple recipes when they are steam or pan fried. Yet there was one recipe I had never tried before and I wanted to for quite a bit now: brandade. It’s a traditional recipe from Provence and Occitanie and I grew up eating some quite often. Like many traditional dishes it is rather simple to prepare, and it requires very few ingredients: salted cod, potatoes, milk, olive oil. It just requires to prepare in advance the salted cod that needs to bath in water for 12-24h or so. I made a very light version on brandade, and we ate it as a dip for steam vegetables. It can be used further in a few recipes too: with bread toasts, potatoes, tomatoes… But without further delay here is the recipe. I hope you’ll enjoy it!!

Brandade

– a piece of salted cod

– one mid size potato

– olive oil

– milk

– pepper

12 to 24h before eating bath the cod in water. Change the water once in a while. If you use Japanese salted cod, the quantity of salt is much less than in Europe so I only had mine bathing for 6h.

Now that the cod is soft and almost unsalted, boil it in a large pan and boil the potato to without peeling it. When cooked, remove the bones of the cod and peel the potato.

I used my blender but you can do it in a bowl too and do it manually. Put the cod and the potato and purée the mixture, add a tablespoon of milk and one of olive oil each time it’s needed to smoothen the mixture. Repeat until you have a creamy dry texture. It should not be liquid so be careful when adding the liquid, not to add to many. Add pepper and your brandade is ready!!

June 24, 2019

Golden week!!

Well, well, well… this time of the year has come again and for me golden week means first ocean bathing, the beginning of the bodyboarding season and the beach season. This year the weather has decided differently and it is so cold that I spend my evenings curled in my cashmere or under a plaid, with heater still on. Not only is it cold, it is also raining quite a bit some days Limiting all outdoor activities. So I decided to think of the summer and get ready for it, and took on the challenge my neighbor gave me: sew my own yukata!

My first challenge was to find the proper fabric in colors and patterns that I would actually wear. I opted for online shopping at Hotta-shop and found a cheap roll of yukata fabric 100% cotton and made in Japan, and delivered in a decent amount of time. I’m actually very pleased with fabric and think of ordering some for my next projects. Then during 3h with my 88yo neighbor I learned how to measure and cut the fabric for making the yukata, and starting sewing. I’m still halfway through, as we had friends from France over for a couple of days, I will likely finish today or tomorrow…

Sewing is a great challenge for me as it is a very twisted way of thinking that I need to acquire, and my teacher prefers spending time in small chitchat than the long explanations I would actually need. Anyway I’m having fun and can’t wait for the summer to come!!!

Oh… but don’t worry I haven’t forgotten to cook! For our friends, after our little hike I baked my new scones in a white chocolate, and milk chocolate and miso peanuts, they simply loved them!!! I cooked plenty of other things, some coming soon!

April 29, 2019

Memories

No cooking or recipe talk today… just talking about me and us. About what February 24th means…

12 years ago today A. and I got married… it took us years to find where and how we would do it, but suddenly, one day, in Tokyo, we found the place and everything was settled in less than two months. Planning for years is not really our style… The whole idea was to have fun and share that with friends and family here in Tokyo. This day ended in a flash, everything was so quick that every year I wish I could do it again… wear that beautiful off white kimono, walk to the shrine, share sake with A., enjoy the plum blossoms, and then take every one to a very unique kaiseki restaurant, and finish with champagne and plenty of friends, a shamisen performance from A.’s group and a memorable lion dance by our friend K.. I also perfectly remember not having time to eat and scavenging our room and ending up eating a whole box of macarons M. offered us!!! I am so grateful so many people came from all over the world to share that moment, and many more, with us… and thanks to those that were with us by thought.

I wish you a lovely Sunday!!!

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

February 23, 2019