Butternut squash love

Since the very first I saw this season I have bought butternut squash every week and I am not yet tired of it. Whether it is with Japanese rice, risotto, faro, pasta or quinoa, it is always great. In jumbo ravioli also it is perfect. I love the taste and the texture and I love it because it cooks super quickly, it keeps quite long even after cut open. It is the perfect ingredient for me this week since A. is away on business and I cook only for myself. Oh! And I was forgetting that it suits very well melty cheese be it cheddar, Parmigiano or gruyère.

So I’ve tried faro risotto style pure and simple. Topped with plenty of grated red cheddar. For that I first boiled the faro a bit before cooking the butternut squash in olive oil and added the faro.

I did tagliatelle with butternut squash, when it was really late and needed to eat quickly. For that I added the butternut squash cut in bites to the boiling water of the pasta 5min before they were supposed to be done. Topped with grated Parmigiano and a bit of olive oil.

And finally I added it to some quinoa soup, a recipe that over the years has been a classic of the chilly season. I just tossed the quinoa with a carrot, a piece of lotus root, chunks of butternut squash and winged beans in gently boiling water, in order of cooking time. Added some curcuma, salt and pepper and ate all warm.

There are still a few more recipes I want to try with butternut squash, but it will be next week until I buy a new one…

October 4, 2018

Spicy carrot pie

The other day we went for lunch at cafe Boba and while we were waiting for our food to arrive I browsed an American cookbook on pies. Something that was perfect for the season. And with my basket full of autumn vegetables, I was very much inspired by the recipes with pumpkin, carrots… and one really attracted me. It was a sweet and spicy carrot pie. But of course I didn’t do what the recipe said, I just get the inspiration and made a savory carrot pie with spices. It was super simple and really delicious. I like the idea of a carrot pudding in a pie crust, it makes the pudding easier to serve and gives a good boost with healthy carbs.

Here is my recipe, I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Spicy carrot pie (makes 6 individual pies)

For the pie crust:

– 100g of flour of your choice (I used a mix of white and whole wheat flour)

– 80g of butter

– a bit of water

– cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt

For the filling:

– 3 large carrots

– 3 eggs

– same spices as above

You can add cream and fresh grated ginger, but I had none.

Prepare the pie crust by stirring all the ingredients and kneading until soft. Roll and set in your pie dish(es)

Peel and boil the carrot, when soft, put them in a blender with the eggs and the spices and purée the mix. Pour the mix in the pie crust. Bake for 30min at 190deg. Enjoy!!

And because I had a bit of leftover pie crust, I made chai apple tarts too!!!

October 2, 2018

Osmanthus fragrans syrup

In the garden, blooming in September we have about 5 or 6 osmanthus fragans or 金木犀 kinmokusei in Japanese . First I didn’t know what it was and I was just charmed by the lovely smell coming from these very tiny orange flowers. It blooms when crape myrtle サルスベリ sarusuberi flowers start to finish, and before the beginning of camelia 椿 tsubaki, or fall colors. Last year I heard from a friend the name of the tree and that it is possible to eat the flowers. But when I learned about that the flowers had already faded and I couldn’t try. But this year I didn’t miss it! When the smell started in the garden I prepared the ingredients and gears for making syrup and finally today I harvested the flowers. It is really nice to harvest these small flowers. It’s quite easy and it smells so good! Collecting 100g like the recipe requires took about 1h. Because we have so many trees we didn’t need a ladder, just reaching for flowers at our height on several trees.

Then making the syrup is quite easy though a little tedious.

Osmanthus frangans flowers syrup (1L)

– 100g of flowers of Osmanthus fragans

– 600g of sugar (I used brown cane sugar)

– 600ml of water (for the syrup)

– 150ml of Cointreau or other Grand Marnier (it’s for washing the flowers, so no alcohol remains in the final product)

The first thing and most tedious step is to clean the flowers. Remove the stems of the flower as much as possible, to keep only the petals. In a metal net or strainer, 20g by 20g of petal, shake gently to remove dirt and small undesirable parts. Then in a large bowl of water add the flowers and 75ml of Cointreau or Grand Marnier and move gently the flowers in to clean them further and remove small bugs… strain in the metal net and do it a second time with again 75ml of Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Keep the flowers in the strainer for 20 to 30min to drain.

In a large pan add the water and the sugar and bring to boil, add then the cleaned flowers, and once it boils again lower the heat and gently stir for 5minutes. And stop the fire and let cool down naturally. Prepare the containers by sterilizing them. Once the syrup has cooled down bring to a boil a second time, and stop the fire right away and pour in the containers. It’s ready!

September 24, 2018

Food in Tuscany

There is so much to say about it…

Food in Italy is always simple, fresh and great… I love to go shopping on the markets (there are markets pretty much everywhere) and find some local delish, I love to cook the simple fresh vegetables in season. My favorite Italian vegetables are zucchini, with the flower even better), fennel, artichokes, celery, radicchio, ceps and tomatoes. I love also the fresh pasta, the million varieties of cheeses and the prosciutto and the speck… but Italy is also great for herbs and dry fruits: pine nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios depending on the region. Pisa province is a region where pine nuts are produced and I couldn’t help but try them and bring some back to Japan! Recipes using them coming soon!

While in Italy I cooked a few different and very simple meals. I am a big fan of pesto soup and minestrone, so as soon as I can I usually cook one. In particular when the fresh beans are in season. It is really simple: celery, tomato, zucchini, fresh beans is the base, then add whatever: spinach, chard, carrot, onion… cook in salted water, serve with olive oil and grated Parmigiano. Enjoy warm or cold.

Fresh pasta are always good at least so much better than anything you can find elsewhere that there is no need to make tour own!! And stuffed pasta are always my favorite. Ricotta-spinach ravioli is on the top of the list, served with either a tomato sauce or chards and basil simply blanched and then cooked in olive oil with the ravioli. An other quick and delicious recipe!

When I have more time I like to prepare risotto with fresh and seasonal vegetables. Fennels that can hardly be found in Japan make a fresh risotto served with fennel flowers picked during a stroll in the garden. An onion to start with, plenty of olive oil, the perfect risotto rice, a large fennel, vegetable broth, and here is a beautiful risotto after 30 minutes!

Here it is for my selection of simple recipes for a little dinner fix in Italy!

September 4, 2018

Paris

Going to Paris in August is always a feast! The city is empty of angry Parisian and everything is smooth and nice. Of course there is no theatre show nor opera to see, little exhibitions and some shops and restaurants are closed for the summer holiday, but who cares? It’s the best time to visit Paris to me. The parks are beautifully refreshing and quiet, no little brats to disturb the quietness, the terraces of cafe are less busy, and everything seems to move at a slower pace or in a foggy heat.

I particularly love to walk in the Luxembourg Gardens, stop here and there and look at people, those playing chess, those playing tennis, those seating and lazying, those running frantically… it was perfect because I was working at ENS and we stayed at the newly reopened Lutecia, and the best way to travel back and forth is by crossing the garden!

So one word about the Lutecia… it has always been for me a landmark on the left bank and a place I wanted to stay at. After years of renovation, it finally reopened in July and I was happy A. booked there for this trip. The renovation is in fact not fully finished and it feels like it will be better in a year or so once they will really have finished it.

One thing that I love when traveling is to do a kitchen take over if I don’t have my own kitchen, and after 3 days in Paris I was longing for cooking and took over my best friend’s kitchen for one evening. She picked a recipe she wanted me to prepare and I picked the dessert.

We ended with some gnocchi with jus d’herbe as proposed in Passedat’s book, snd a mirabelles tart. Two simple and delicious recipes.

Mirabelle tart:

– 1.5 kg of mirabelle

– flour and butter for the dough

– a little bit of sugar to sprinkle on top

Prepare the sablé dough with the flour and butter. Roll it, not too thin (mine was and couldn’t absorb all the juice) to the size of your pie dish. Wash the mirabelle and pit them. Set a thick layer of mirabelle in the dough (they will reduce, so really pack them). Sprinkle a bit of sugar. Cook in the oven for 40min at 180deg.

August 26, 2018

Bosso

As planned I didn’t have much time to write in the past days, busy with work: final grading, entrance exams, proposals to submit and research to supervise as usual though. And at home it’s been busy too, with friends visiting and a feverish A. to take care of. But the noticeable thing of this week is the turn in the weather and since the 16th it is definitely not summer anymore. Days have noticeably shortened, there is a cool wind and we turned off the cooler. It is perfect now for open drives, walks around the rice fields to watch rice harvesting and have lunch outside in the shade. And one place I really like, just halfway to Isumi from Tokyo, is the pizzeria Bosso by the lake in Ichihara. It is a small restaurant with seats indoor that have view on the lake and outdoor, facing the lakeside museum, there is a terrace shaded by wine with plenty of grapes, where you can eat the takeaway pizza. Not only the place is really nice, the staff is super friendly and nice, and the food always surprises me. They use local fresh products for the pizze, both cheese and vegetables. The Noka pizza (農家ピザ) uses plenty of seasonal vegetables thus changes regularly and I really love it, it is always a surprise! This time, on the cheese base there was a massive amount of fresh myoga, okra and ginger as in the picture below.

So if you are in the Ichihara area this place is a must try!!!! The nearby museum, the Ichihara artmix events etc.. are also worth a visit. My favorite riding club is also in the area.

Bosso pizzeria:

Chiba-ken Ichihara-shi, Funyu75-1

Website

August 18, 2018

Blueberry tart season!!

Every year I wait for this season, when there’s plenty of fruits at the farmers market and you can buy locally grown blueberries by 300g or 500g for a cheap price… something for those that don’t live in Japan seems probably unimaginable when you buy fruits by kilos… but out of this 300g or 500g not a single fruit is damaged or a little bit too ripe and starts to rot…

And with that many blueberries my favorite things to do are: tarts and crumbles; fruit salads; smoothies. But recently I don’t do smoothies anymore rather use the fruits the way they are… and tarts and crumbles are amazing. With blueberries I make a simple buttery pie crust, with not too much butter (I prefer adding a bit of water rather than too much butter), and very few sugar, than just wash a pour the fruits in, bake for 35minutes and enjoy while all juicy. This time I sprinkled a bit of ice sugar for the finish… that’s it. Perfect for tea time or breakfast as you wish…

How do you like your blueberries? The season here is just starting so I’ll be happy to test new recipes if you tell me!

July 10, 2018

Japanese plum: sumomo

When one Japanese plum (sumomo – スモモ) tree in the garden suddenly decides to produce dozens or hundreds of fruits… so many that it becomes annoying… the only option is to give away many again to friends around (they’ll start to get annoyed too!!!)… but when it’s still too much the only option for me who is not very good at making jam and preserves is to make nice breakfast clafoutis, tarts and crumbles with plenty of fruits…

For clafoutis and tart, I use very simple basic recipes. Crumbles, I don’t bake often. Too buttery and rich for breakfast usually, so I tried a new version. I replaced the sugar by a mix of flax seeds and dates and added butter little by little until the texture starts being crumbly but rather dry. The result is an amazing crumble perfect for breakfast. Not too sweet, but just enough to compensate the acidity of the cooked fruits. A crunchy soft crumb not oily. Something to make again for sure!

How do you cook your extra fruits???

July 5, 2018

Almond sables

When there are so many delicious fruits to eat it’s nice to have a few biscuits to go with. Usually with summer fruits I like to prepare simple sablés. This time: almond sablés with a recipe I found browsing some magazines online. The sugar sprinkles really attracted me because I had some I use for frosting some time ago and it needed to be finished before the rainy season makes it unusable. So I went for it… and it was much much better than anything I expected. So here is the recipe.

Almond sablés for 30 bite-size pieces

– 140g of flour

– 100g of butter (at room temperature makes it easier to knead)

– 60g of almond powder

– 30g of sugar

– a bit of icing sugar for the finish

Mix all the ingredients (but the icing sugar) together to obtain a smooth dough. Pull chucks and make small balls that you gently squeeze into a flat and thick coins and arrange on a baking plate greased or with cooking paper. Bake for 15 to 20 min at 160 deg. Sprinkle icing sugar… it’s ready to enjoy!!!

June 23, 2018