Category Archives: Breakfast

Chawan Mushi with Asparagus (Japanese Savoury Egg Custard with Asparagus)

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Chawan mushi is a perfect representative of these comforting, universally enjoyable dishes, which are hardly known in Europe and which surprise all those who still associate Japanese food with sushi and raw fish. For me it has all the qualities of a perfect dish: it is light and healthy, but filling; it is extremely versatile, both in terms of ingredients, as well as serving occasions, and, most of all, it tastes wonderful. It can be made in advance, then reheated or served cold and since it is prepared in individual containers, it also looks cute on the table. The only obligatory Asian ingredients here are sake and soy sauce, so I hope it’s accessible for home cooks all around the world. Accidentally, it’s perfect after short food indulgence periods, such as Easter.

Chawan Mushi (茶碗蒸し) was the first recipe I made from “The Japanese Cooking. A Simple Art” by Shizuo Tsuji, one of the best cookery books I have ever had and I have only slightly modified the amounts’ ratio. I have already written about this amazing dish almost a year ago, but here is a quick reminder. Chawan mushi, meaning “steamed in a tea cup”, is a light custardy mixture of seasoned stock (Japanese or Western) and eggs, to which different “fillings” are added. The traditional version includes a long list of ingredients (including ginko nuts!), but in my opinion this is a typical versatile dish that can easily be modified depending on one’s preferences, seasons or simply contents of one’s fridge.

My first chawan mushi was made with shrimp and green peas (see the recipe here), but I have already played with different meats, seafood, vegetables, mushrooms and the results were satisfactory every time. The ways to serve this custard are also endless: it’s perfect as a part of the main course, with rice and some Asian pickles, or Western way, with bread and a bowl of green salad dressed with vinaigrette. I find it excellent as a cold or warm starter, as an afternoon snack, as breakfast, as a picnic snack… Possibilities are endless.

Asparagus and egg are a well known successful pairing, so you will not be surprised if I say this is – at least now – my favourite version of chawan mushi. As a notorious carnivore I have added small pieces of chicken breast marinated in sake, but you can forget them and keep it strictly vegetarian. Shizuo Tsuji advises chicken stock if dashi is unavailable and, I will probably shock some Japanese cooks, but here, with bits of chicken I have definitely preferred chicken stock (I have tested both). (Of course vegetarians can use vegetable stock I guess).

If you don’t like asparagus, you might enjoy chawan mushi with shrimp and green peas:

TIPS: Even though chawan mushi is easier to prepare in a steamer, Shizuo Tsuji’s suggestion to use a water bath in the oven gives excellent results. Actually this is the way I prepare it because the steamer plate in my rice cooker is too low for my heatproof cups.

If you don’t have a nearby Japanese grocery shop, individual, but high heatproof cups may be difficult to get. I have found very good ones at IKEA (even though without lids), but as soon as I got hold of the beautiful Japanese chawan mushi cups you see above, I stopped using the old ones.

Mitsuba is the traditional herb served with Chawan Mushi (it is usually steamed on the top of the custard), but as you see I haven’t added it because my mistuba hasn’t even sprouted yet (check the lovely mitsuba decorated version on Nami’s blog (Just One Cookbook)). You can add any herbs on top, as long as they suit the ingredients, but frankly these custards were perfect without any herb.

Special equipment:

individual heatproof cups (at least 6 cm high, mine were 6,5 cm high,with a 7,5 cm diameter)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Ingredients (4 portions):

10 medium thick green asparagus (less than 1,5 cm thick in the thickest place) or double this amount if you want a vegetarian meal

2 small chicken breasts

1 tablespoon sake

salt

(mitsuba leaves)

Custard:

2 eggs

300 ml dashi (Japanese stock) or chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sake or mirin (with mirin the custard will be slightly sweetish)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 220°C (or prepare your steamer).

Cut up the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, combine with sake and sprinkle with a bit of salt.

Put aside.

Cut off the toughest part of the the asparagus stalks’ (I usually cut off 1/4 if I use the above-mentioned, medium thick asparagus).

Cut the rest into bite sized pieces.

Boil a lot of water and prepare a big baking dish at least as high as the heatproof cups.

Mix the eggs very delicately in a bowl. In another bowl combine the dashi (or chicken stock), salt (it depends on how salty your stock is), sake/mirin and soy sauce. Pour the stock mixture over the eggs and stir well, without beating.

Strain the chicken pieces. Divide them and asparagus equally into four heatproof cups.

Put mitsuba leaves on top (click here to see how Nami ties them in a cute traditional way).

Strain the custard mixture and pour into the garnished cups.

Cover the cups with aluminium foil or the lids if you have special cups with lids.

If you use the oven, place the cups in a big baking dish. Fill the dish with hot water (not boiling). The water should arrive up till 3/4 of the cups’ height.

Put the dish in the oven and let the custards bake for 30 minutes.

If you use a steamer, steam for about 20 minutes.

If you use herbs which do not support well the heat, sprinkle chawan mushi with them just before serving.

Serve hot or cold with bread/toast for breakfast, with a salad for a lunch, as a snack or as a starter.

You may serve it with soy sauce. Personally I think it is not necessary.

Even though the eggs’ mixture sets during the cooking process, the mushrooms or other vegetables might release juices, so think about putting a spoon on the table!

Easter Party Ideas

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Wonton Cups, or Edible Snack Containers

Zsuzsa, my blogging friend from Zsuzsa is in the Kitchen, has recently invited me to join her and other bloggers (Eva from Takarékos Konyha, Elisabeth from Food and Thrift and Eva from Kitchen Inspirations) and, just like them, post my Easter menu suggestions. I was honoured, but at first I panicked because apart from a Chicken Terrine (see below) I don’t really have traditional Easter dishes on my blog. Both Zsuzsa and Elisabeth have convinced me to present whatever I might serve for such an occasion, even if it is not traditional in any country or region of the world. Thank you, ladies, for your advice! Thus, I have chosen some festive dishes I love, regardless their origins or relation to Easter celebrations. Thank you so much, Zsuzsa, for your kind invitation. I hope my eclectic choice, far from Easter traditions will not disappoint you.

Here is a list of dishes I would take into consideration if I had guests for Easter (of course I wouldn’t serve all of them!). All of them can be served at a buffet-style party, my recent favourite way to entertain. Such a concept usually means more work beforehand because, contrary to traditional meals, one cannot serve just three dishes, but this way I offer a bigger choice to the guests, who are not forced to eat all they are served, but most of all such a party has a more relaxed atmosphere. Apart from one exception, I have chosen easy recipes, which either can be prepared very quickly or made in advance. They have both Western and Asian origins, so I hope you will find here some useful ideas, not necessarily for Easter.

First of all, I would never skip the obligatory Wonton Cups, or Edible Snack Containers (see the photo above). Versatile, cute and easy, these edible containers are nowadays a staple not only when I have guests (thank you, Juliana!).

Last-minute Crackers can be prepared really just before the guests arrive as long as you have some puff pastry in the fridge. These star-shaped crackers were prepared for Christmas, but you can give them any shape you wish, such as bunnies…

These olives are so easy to prepare you will never consider buying them seasoned by someone else again.

This Smoked Mackerel and Egg Spread can be prepared with any smoked fish of your choice, of course.

Recently discovered Taramosalata (Fish Roe Spread) is one more thing I will never ever even think of buying. Home-made version is incomparably better.

Light Chicken Terrine with Nutmeg is actually the only dish I used to have as a child for Easter and other festive occasions.

Savoury Cake with Goat Cheese and Dried Tomatoes (aka Goat Cheese and Dried Tomatoes Bread) is a wonderful alternative to canapés.

Cake with Ham and Olives, another canapés substitution, is a real crowd-pleaser.

If you feel like serving Japanese food (why not?), try preparing Maki Sushi with Shrimp, Avocado and Cucumber. They will not necessarily look as perfect as in your sushi shop, but they are really easy to prepare.

Spring Rolls with Leftover Roast and Carrots, an Asian sandwich alternative, can also be prepared with the remains of your roast, after the Easter holidays.

Sesame-Coated Chicken Nuggets (Tori no goma age) can be made in advance and will please all the sesame fans.

Japanese Chicken and Leek Skewers (Negima) are brushed with teriyaki glaze and usually please every guest.

Asparagus Teriyaki Pork Rolls are incredibly easy to prepare and are one of my favourite ways to serve asparagus.

Unbaked chocolate Cake with Biscuits (Chocolate Terrine with Speculoos) is a rich creamy dessert which doesn’t require baking and is incredibly simple to prepare.

Coconut, Chocolate and Rum Truffles (Bounty Truffles). Who doesn’t like chocolate truffles?

Matcha and White Chocolate Truffles are the only ones which might be tricky to prepare, but they are green, fresh, festive and have this amazing slightly bitter matcha flavour…

Chocolate and prunes are all you need to prepare these luscious Prunes in Chocolate, a quicker and easier alternative to chocolate truffles.

This Kiwi and Rum Cocktail seemed perfect for a spring party.

I strongly encourage you to check the wonderful Easter menu suggestions proposed by my blogging friends and would like to wish you all a very happy Easter and wonderful holidays to those who don’t celebrate it!

Light Chicken Terrine with Nutmeg

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Home-made terrine always brings my best food-related childhood memories and, therefore, is one of the rare dishes I consider as both festive and comforting. My mum would bake it for most family parties and holidays and it was obligatory for Christmas and Easter. Thus, every year, when Easter approaches, instead of being tempted by the chocolate bunnies that invade all the Swiss shops, I start longing for my beloved humble-looking terrine and its inebriating, festive nutmeg aroma. I have already written about this terrine/pâté some time ago, but when I made it last weekend, I took the opportunity to change my old photos and decided to share this recipe with you again.

France is probably the country which comes to mind when we think about pâtés and terrines. They can be made in France with any kind of meat and/or liver. While pâtés are usually made with pork or duck or game and/or liver and sometimes are baked in a crust (pâté en croûte) or simply made soft and spreadable, terrines can also be made with fish, seafood, vegetables or even fruit and are always baked in a rectangular dish and are eaten only sliced. However, when you observe French butchers’ products, you realise that what some call “terrine”, others label as “pâté” and in some cases (especially in the case of pork products), the difference is not that clear. I am still hesitating what term I should use for this Polish recipe, but I think that for non-French readers, “terrine” might be easier to understand.

The Polish terrines I have been making for years are based on my mum’s recipe and differ a lot from the French ones. Not only are they made with previously cooked meat and liver (French products are baked with raw meat), but they are also very finely ground or mixed, but most of all, there is the amazing nutmeg which is the key ingredient here. My mum would usually prepare her pâté with a mixture of pork and beef, but this lighter, poultry version, would also appear on the table from time to time and this is the one I prepare most often.

The preparation is long, but very simple and difficult to fail. Once it has cooled down, the terrine can be kept in the fridge for about one week or frozen until the day we want to use it. It can be served as a starter, as a snack, on small canapés or crackers and it goes particularly well with all kinds of pickles (pickled pepper, gherkins, onions, beetroots and even kimchi!) and cranberry or bilberry jam/sauce. Personally, I love it with a fiery horseradish sauce and/or my Pickled Sweet Peppers.

TIPS: As the recipe name suggests, nutmeg is the main seasoning, so unless you hate it, do not skip it (at least for the first time). Every time I tried omitting it and putting other seasonings instead, I was very disappointed. Do use freshly grated nutmeg because it loses its aroma very quickly.

As I have mentioned above, this terrine can be frozen in big or small portions and even though the crust will not be crunchy, the taste will stay more or less the same.

You can use either deboned, skinless chicken/turkey cuts or a whole small chicken. The latter version will of course take a bit more time, but it can prove cheaper. If you want, you can skin the chicken before the first, cooking stage. This way the stock you add to the terrine will be less fatty.

Be generous with ground black pepper: this poultry version tends to be a bit bland compared to the pork pâté for example, so freshly ground black pepper gives it more character.

Preparation: 2,5 – 3 hours + cooling time

Ingredients (fills a 20 cm x 10 cm baking tin):

500 g/about 20 oz chicken breast, or a mixture of leg and breast meat or a whole small chicken (you can also use turkey cuts)

green part of 1 leek

1 parsley root or a couple of parsley branches

1/4 celeriac or 2 branches celery

1 big carrot

1 medium onion

100 g/about 4 oz chicken livers

2 slices white, sandwich bread

1/2 nutmeg (freshly grated)

3 heaped tablespoons semolina

pepper, salt

2 eggs

2-3 tablespoons oil or duck fat

(dry breadcrumbs)

If you use the whole chicken, place it in a big pan filled with water. If you want, you can skin it. Add the carrot, the halved onion, the leek, the celeriac and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper and cook on a medium heat until the meat well cooked. The whole chicken will take much more time than cut up meat.

If you use separate meat cuts, cut the meat into equal chunks. Put them in a pan filled with water. Add the carrot, the halved onion, the leek, the celeriac and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper and cook on a medium heat until the carrot is very soft and the meat well cooked.

When the meat or the chicken are cooked, remove them from the stock and wait until they cool down.

Pour 500 ml/about 17 fl oz of the stock into a small pan and cook the livers for 15 minutes.

Put the livers aside.

Place delicately the bread slices in the stock remaining after the livers have been cooked and let them soak for one minute.

Put the livers, the meat (if you use the whole chicken, remove the meat from the carcass, making sure there are no bones or skin), the soaked bread, the carrot and the parsley root (discard the branches) in a food processor and mix into a smooth paste. (Do not throw away the stock in which the meat was cooked!).

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the mixed meat into a bowl.

Add the nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper and taste if there is enough salt (this is the best moment to taste; afterwards tasting might be a bit unpleasant with raw eggs and semolina). Be generous with ground black pepper: this poultry version tends to be a bit bland compared to the pork pâté for example, so freshly ground black pepper gives it more character.

Stir in the eggs, the semolina and about 125 ml (1/2 cup) of the stock in which the meat was cooked at the beginning.

Mix well with a spoon.

Line a baking tin with baking paper or grease it and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Spoon the terrine mixture into the baking tin, smooth the surface with a spoon and sprinkle it with oil or melted duck fat.

Bake about one hour until the top is golden brown and don’t pay attention to the unpleasant smell from the oven (it will be irresistible once the terrine has cooled down).

After it cools down either freeze it or keep it refrigerated (tightly wrapped in cling film) for one week.

Taramosalata (Greek Fish Roe Dip)

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“Free style”, easy-looking recipes are either a blessing or a curse. I have no idea to which category belongs taramasalata, but I am proud to say that even my very first humble attempt to prepare it gave flavoursome, satisfying results. I wonder why I waited so long before making this easy home-made version of the famous fish roe dip.

As many of you probably know, taramosalata is a Greek fish roe dip (“tarama” means fish roe and “salata”… salad) and is usually made with carp or cod roe, oil, lemon juice and bread crumbs or mashed potatoes. According to Wikipedia similar roe spreads apparently exist also in Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. I am not Greek nor have any links with these nationalities, but taramosalata has kept me company since early childhood. I have always been crazy for what I knew at the time as “caviar paste” and buttered bread with a generous layer of this delicacy was one of my beloved snacks. Since the only brand I knew was Swedish, I had been convinced until recently that it was a traditional Swedish product. Since I have never tasted taramosalata made in Greece, nowadays the only two commercial taramasalatas I like also come from Sweden.

I had no idea what the home-made taramosalata should taste like, so I have no comparison, but what you see above was very different from what I used to buy. In a good sense of course; it’s not as horribly salty, not as “violent” and strangely addictive… I couldn’t stop myself from snacking on it all evening… According to Wikipedia, taramosalata is served in Greece on the first day of Easter Lent, but personally I could have it every single day, all year long. I have no idea what the Greeks serve it with (it’s my first Greek recipe on this blog!) but until now a slice of buttered French baguette is my favourite choice. I have also greatly enjoyed it with crunchy Finnish rye bread and with German pumpernickel. Taste wise taramasalata pairs well with cucumber and dill. I like to serve it as a snack on small toasts when my taramasalata-loving friends come for drinks and cannot wait to make them taste my home-made version.

After reading many different recipes on Greek cooking blogs I realised everyone made taramosalata in a different way. Unfortunately Katerina, my favourite Greek blogger, hasn’t written about it, so I finally decided to improvise and develop my own recipe. The result has got almost nothing in common with what I have known until now (on the other hand I used roe from a different fish), but the paste is delicious. Since I improvised a lot, I encourage you to treat the below recipe only as a guide line and adapt it to your own preferences and products you use.

TIPS: I have used here cheap IKEA herring roe bought for the purpose of what I considered a risky experiment. You can use any other fish roe of course. According to many people the whiter the roe, the better the quality.

I have preferred extra-virgin olive oil, but it has a stronger taste and is slightly bitter compared to canola oil which is more neutral. Up to you to decide.

With the below small amount a small baby food processor works the best.

I found that taramasalata greatly improves after several hours in the fridge, so I advise you to prepare it in advance.

Preparation: 15 minutes+ 2-3 hours in the fridge

Ingredients (yields about 200 ml/ 1 1/2 cup taramasalata):

85 g (3 oz) cured fish roe (for this first experiment I have used cheap herring roe bought at IKEA)

2- 3 slices of soft white bread (without crust) soaked in water and squeezed

125 ml (1/2 cup) oil (I have used extra-virgin olive oil, but canola oil has a more neutral taste)

1/2 small onion, chopped

chili powder and salt to taste

juice from 1/2 lemon

(fresh dill)

Put the fish roe, 2 soaked slices of bread, the onion and half of the oil in a food processor and mix until smooth and fluffy.

Add more oil and mix once more.

If the consistency is too thick, add more oil and mix once more.

If it’s too liquid, add the third soaked bread slice.
Season with lemon juice, chili and salt and mix once more. Chill for a couple of hours.
Serve sprinkled with fresh dill.

Korean Pancake with Shrimp and Scallop (Haemul pajeon 해물파전)

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What you see above is my first, partly successful, attempt to prepare the famous Korean seafood pancake. I say “partly successful” because in spite of a burnt part and some other mistakes, I was literally spellbound by this extraordinary snack. First, I thought I would wait a second, better prepared and better looking batch before posting it, but finally I couldn’t wait to share with you my first experience with for what I consider as one of the most memorable dishes I have discovered in recent months or maybe even years.

Seafood pancake (haemul pajeon 해물파전) is a very popular Korean snack or starter. Apparently it is served cut into small pieces and eaten with hands (I say “apparently” because I have never seen it in any restaurant here). It is composed of a batter made with two types of flour, several seafood species, chili peppers and spring onions. The original recipe (found in The Food and Cooking of Korea by Young Jin Song ) calls for five marine creatures and enoki mushrooms, but since I had leftover shrimp and scallops, I used only these and adapted the amounts to a smaller batch. As I have mentioned above, I had made some mistakes, but the preparation was really easy and quick (I was just a bit distracted) and the result impressive. Frankly, when I had prepared the pancake I didn’t imagine it even half as good as it proved, so the first bite was a huge surprise. I felt as if I were eating a very distant, more sophisticated cousin of a pizza, but it has also slightly reminded me of the Japanese okonomiyaki (see my last chicken version here). Both me and my husband were blown away by the result and the whole batch disappeared in no time at all. I will not exaggerate if I say I know I will prepare it dozens or rather hundreds of times in the near future and serve it for brunch, lunch, picnic or party snacks.

You will be surprised to notice that apart from the dipping sauce the recipe doesn’t require a single Korean (or in general Asian) ingredient. In fact, it can be prepared with very international ingredients, available worldwide. On the other hand the sauce, which brings an important Korean touch was a pure delight and I will never skip it.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 2 as snacks):

10 medium shrimps shelled and deveined (cooked or raw)

4 scallops

3 spring onion stalks

1/2 medium hot green chili

1/2 medium hot red chili

1 clove garlic

Batter:

1/2 cup plain flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

200 ml ice cold water

1/3 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 egg, beaten

Dipping sauce:

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 stalk of spring onion finely cut

1 clove garlic, crushed or grated

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Prepare the dipping sauce and put aside.

Prepare the pancake ingredients. Cut the scallops in two horizontally in order to obtain eight flat, round slices.

Slice the garlic finely.

Slice the chilies into very thin strips.

Slice the spring onion stalks into thin strips.

Prepare the batter combining all the ingredients.

Heat some oil in a big pan. (Keep the pan on medium heat, otherwise the pancake will be burnt like mine).

Pour 1/3 of the batter and make sure it spreads on the whole surface.

Scatter the shrimps, scallops, spring onions, chilies and the garlic over the batter and quickly pour on top the remaining batter.

Cover and fry on medium heat until the seafood is cooked.

Turn it over and fry for about two or three minutes just to brown this side a bit too.

Slice the pancake into small pieces (one or two bite-sized) and serve with the dipping sauce.

Spring Rolls with Surimi Crab Sticks, Avocado and Lettuce

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Despised by many people, surimi crab sticks (or imitation crab sticks) are one of the rare processed products I regularly buy. They are the lightest snack I can imagine, have a long shelf – or rather fridge – life, they are easy and quick to use in salads, maki sushi and are quite enjoyable if paired with certain ingredients. There is also a question of brand because imitation crab can easily become awful. Among all the French brands I have tested, only one (Coraya) is edible. In short, I stick to one brand, I don’t expect too much from surimi sticks and they never disappoint me.

I often use surimi crab sticks in maki sushi and this was the first time I tested them in spring rolls. When a couple of days ago I saw A_Boleyn’s appetising Shrimp Summer Rolls, I thought I should write about my rolls which, apart from rice sheets, are completely different from hers. I left out glass noodles and even though I haven’t followed any recipe, I must have been influenced by the Japanese Nama Harumaki, raw spring rolls containing lettuce. The rolls were really good and refreshing, not as filling as the traditional ones (with glass noodles), but perfect as a light meal or snack or why not a breakfast on a hot summer day. Since they contain already mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco, they do not necessarily need any additional dipping sauce, but a simple mixture of low-sodium soy sauce, chili oil and vinegar is the best option for me.

TIP: Do not use bitter lettuce here (I used here my favourite “rougette” with slightly violet leaves, but the international iceberg would be perfect too)

Preparation: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients (10 rolls):

10 (22 cm or 8 3/4 in) rice paper sheets

10 small lettuce leaves (or 5 big leaves, halved);

1 avocado

10 surimi/imitation crab sticks

1/2 big cucumber

mayonnaise

Worcestershire sauce

Tabasco

Cut both the avocado and the cucumber into thick strips.

Remove the thick and tough parts of lettuce leaves (they might tear the delicate rice sheets).

Fill a big wide bowl with warm (not hot) water.

Dip rice paper sheets one by one in the water, immersing them delicately so that you don’t break them.

As soon as the sheet softens ( after about ten – twenty seconds), put it onto a big chopping board.

Place first a lettuce leaf, then, horizontally (at the edge which is closest to you) cucumber strips, avocado strips, some mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and a crab stick. Roll tightly starting from the edge which is closest to you.

Proceed in the same way with the remaining rolls.

Serve them immediately as they are or cut in two horizontally.

If you wish to serve them later, wrap them individually in cling film because they dry out very quickly.

Hot & Cold Rice Bowl with Shrimp, Avocado and Cucumber

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This dish is one of the main reasons why I always prepare a bigger batch of rice, making sure I will have leftovers the following day. It has started as an accidental, “what-I-find-in-the-fridge” meal, but has quickly become one of the most frequent and most comforting meals. I have it for breakfast, for lunch, as a snack and for dinner; at any time of the day and in any season, since I practically always have avocado, cucumber and shrimp in stock. I still remember the first time I made this bowl. I just needed something quick and light, but filling and I didn’t suspect it would become a staple.

For me shrimp, avocado and cucumber have always been a winning trio, but I suppose I took this bowl idea from the maki sushi I have been making for quite a long time (click here to see Shrimp, Avocado and Cucumber Maki), so this bowl is almost a kind of deconstructed version of these. If I bothered to use freshly steamed and then seasoned rice, this bowl would be called “chirashi sushi” (scattered sushi). Since it’s basic, one day old, unseasoned rice, I simply call it a rice bowl.

Even though I post this dish only now, I think I must have made it at least 50 times with exactly the same ingredients. Over the months (or rather years) I gradually added some important details and modifications. The thing I absolutely adore is microwaving the rice until it’s hot and topping it with very cold ingredients, taken straight from the fridge. Somehow the contrast is very pleasant. The seasonings play also an important role here: mayonnaise, Tabasco or chili oil, Worcestershire sauce and toasted sesame seeds have become obligatory items. I find the combination of all these ingredients simply perfect (or rather perfectly adapted to my tastebuds).

Preparation: 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 1):

one portion leftover rice

1/2 avocado

1/4 big cucumber or 1/2 small one

7-8 medium shrimps

mayonnaise

Worcestershire sauce

toasted sesame seeds

Tabasco or chili oil

Boil some water in a pan and cook the shrimps for a couple of minutes until they change their colour.

Put them quickly in cold water. Shell them and devein them.

Cut the cucumber and the avocado into bite-sized pieces.

Heat the rice in a microwave. Place it in a bowl.

Cover the rice with avocado, cucumber and shrimps.

Add some mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco or chili oil.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy.

Savoury Cake with Goat Cheese and Dried Tomatoes/Goat Cheese and Dried Tomatoes Bread

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Savoury cakes (called “breads” by many people) are one of my favourite party snacks. They are easy to prepare, do not require any complicated stages (such as kneading, easily adaptable to available ingredients and, most of all, very rewarding because they seem to impress most of the guests and guarantee lots of compliments. Apart from parties, they are a great everyday sandwich substitute and I strongly recommend it for picnics. Some of you might remember the two savoury cakes I have posted on my blog (Cake with Ham and Olives and Cake with Shrimp and Edamame). This goat cheese cake was prepared with the same basic batter (of which I am particularly proud, see below). Then, as usually, I simply added what I found in the fridge and what suited my mood.

As I have already mentioned in my previous posts, savoury cakes are quite popular in France (they are called by English name “cake”, pronounced “kek”) and I have always loved the concept, but the cakes always seemed too fatty (greasy fingers were inevitable). In fact, in order to be moist and soft, most cakes contain quite a lot of oil or butter. After many attempts to lower the fat content I finally found out that the smooth fresh cheese (called fromage blanc or quark) was an excellent partial oil substitute and guaranteed the softness and the moisture I wanted to achieve. I have recently also discovered that the fresh cheese can easily be replaced with silken tofu (see the recipe below). Both are impossible to detect, do not alter the batter’s taste and make the cakes incredibly soft. In short, I encourage you to try this delicious and light batter recipe and then add whatever comes to your mind. I have always considered it as foolproof and hope it will never let you down either.

TIPS: The cake should be served cold (it’s difficult to cut when warm). It can be made well in advance, wrapped in cling film and kept in the fridge for two-three days.

Quark cheese/fromage blanc/fresh cheese is smooth and has a very thick yogurt-like consistency (a bit softer than cream cheese). It may contain up to 40% fat, but I always use the lightest one. If it’s not available, replace it with silken tofu, but skip the milk (see below).

If you manage to find a narrow and long baking dish, it makes cute, two-bite sized, elegant snack slices. I have bought a 4 cm x 30 cm (about 1,6 x 12 inches) and use it very often. It is perfect for half a batch when I don’t have guests and don’t want to make a big cake.

Before I pass to the recipe I would like to thank A_Boleyn for testing my Chawan Mushi with Shrimp and Peas (the egg custard I have presented in my previous post). In spite of a silly mistake in my recipe, she has achieved wonderful results. Click here to see her beautiful egg custard.

Preparation: 1h15

Ingredients (for a 30 cm x 10 cm baking dish or two 4 cm x 30 cm dishes):

200 g quark cheese/fromage blanc (or 200 g silken tofu, but in this case skip the milk)

125 ml milk (approx. 1/2 cup)

50 ml oil (approx. 1/5 cup)

250 ml flour (approx. 1 cup)

1 flat tablespoon salt

pepper

4 eggs

1 package baking powder (16 g/about 0.5 oz)

1 tablespoon thyme

100-150 g/ 3,5 oz- 5.3 oz fresh goat cheese

10 dried tomatoes (drained if preserved in oil or soaked in hot water to soften if they were just dried)

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Mix the eggs, the cheese, the flour, the milk, the baking powder and the oil with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

ATTENTION! If you use silken tofu, you need to mix the batter in a food processor or a blender.

Add the chopped tomatoes. Stir well.

Grease a rectangular 30 x 10 cm baking dish or line it with baking paper. (You can use two smaller dishes of course).

Pour the cake preparation.

Delicately drop small amounts of goat cheese (heaped teaspoons) in equal distances, pushing them inside the cake.

Bake 1 hour or until the cake is golden brown. Let it cool down (the best would be to refrigerate for one or two hours). Serve it cut into slices and then into 2 or 4 bite-sized pieces or, if using as a sandwich alternative, simply cut into slices.

Chawan Mushi (茶碗蒸し), or Egg Custard with Shrimp and Peas

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Beautiful, uncomplicated, healthy, nourishing and luscious. Most of you will not be surprised if I add it is a Japanese dish I’m talking about. On the other hand, those who associate Japanese cuisine with sushi, seaweed and miso soup, would certainly be in awe if they tasted Chawan Mushi, one of the most universally enjoyable Japanese dishes.

Chawan Mushi (茶碗蒸し) was the first recipe I made from “The Japanese Cooking. A Simple Art” by Shizuo Tsuji. I was offered it a year and half ago, but I still consider this as the most extraordinary cookery book in my life (actually, apart from testing more than a dozen recipes I have read this book at least three times!). As soon as I prepared my first Chawan Mushi, I posted it, but when, later, I saw the gorgeous Chawan Mushi on Nami’s blog (Just One Cookbook), I felt really ashamed and quickly deleted my hideous photo together with the text. I have completely forgotten to repost it, even though I prepared this dish regularly. Yesterday, I finally felt brave enough to take new shots and even though it might not be the best-looking Chawan Mushi, I decided to present you once more this extraordinary dish.

Chawan Mushi belongs to the mushimono (蒸し物), or steamed Japanese dishes family, and could be described as a seasoned stock and egg mixture combined with different ingredients. It is served hot or cold depending on the weather and preferences. The most popular version seems to include, among others, shrimp and mushrooms, but Shizuo Tsuji affirms that the savoury egg custard basis is the only obligatory part of this dish and modifications are more than welcome. I have already made Chawan Mushi with different ingredients and it was excellent every single time because the basic mixture is quite versatile. It can also be served practically at any time of the day: for breakfast, with a green salad for a light lunch, as a starter or as a light, but nourishing snack. Since sweet peas start to appear on the markets, I thought they would look nice in the yellow custard, combined with shrimp. In fact, not only did they look nice, but, most of all, they this Chawan Mushi tasted great served both hot and cold.

TIPS: Even though Chawan Mushi is easier to prepare in a steamer, Shizuo Tsuji’s suggestion to use a water bath in the oven gives excellent results. Actually this is the way I prepare it because my steamer is too low for my heatproof cups.

If you don’t have a nearby Japanese grocery shop, individual, but high heatproof cups may be difficult to get. I have found very good ones at IKEA (even though without lids).

Mitsuba is the traditional herb served with Chawan Mushi (it is usually steamed on the top of the custard), but you can add any herb of your choice, but if you’re not sure how it will taste baked, sprinkle the dish with it just before serving. (Chives are a very good option).

Special equipment:

individual heatproof cups (at least 6 cm high, mine were 6,5 cm high,with a 7,5 cm diameter)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Ingredients (4 portions):

15 medium shrimp (deveined, shelled and boiled)

200 g green peas (fresh or frozen), blanched

mitsuba leaves or another herb of your choice, such as chives

Custard:

2 eggs

300 ml dashi (Japanese stock) or chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mirin

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 220°C (or prepare your steamer).

Divide the shrimp and the green peas equally into five heatproof cups.

Put mitsuba leaves on top (click here to see how Nami ties them in a cute traditional way).

Boil a lot of water and prepare a big baking dish at least as high as the heatproof cups.

Mix the eggs very delicately in a bowl. In another bowl combine the dashi (or chicken stock), salt, mirin and soy sauce. Pour the stock mixture over the eggs and stir well, without beating. Strain it and pour into the garnished cups. Cover the cups with aluminium foil or the lids if you have special cups with lids.

Place the cups in a big baking dish. Fill the dish with hot water (not boiling). The water should arrive up till 3/4 of the cups’ height.

Put the dish in the oven and let the custards bake for 30 minutes.

If you use a steamer, steam for about 20 minutes.

If you use chives, sprinkle chawan mushi with them just before serving.

Serve hot or cold with bread/toast for breakfast, with a salad for a lunch, as a snack or as a starter.

You may serve it with soy sauce to pour over the custard. Personally I think it is not necessary.

Even though the eggs’ mixture sets during the cooking process, the mushrooms or other vegetables might release juices, so think about putting a spoon on the table!

Egg Croquettes (Tamago no Korokke)

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I love eggs and have always considered myself an exceptionally big egg consumer until I read that the Japanese eat more than 300 eggs per person a year. Nowadays everyone agrees that an egg a day is perfectly safe (for healthy people of course), but when eggs were on a nutritional black list in Western countries, this Japanese preference, paired with national low cholesterol levels must have seemed mysterious for our health specialists. I have recently realised that many of my blogging friends share my love for eggs (a special mention here for Hiroyuki’s neverending list of delightful egg recipes which could fill a whole cookery book!). I have bookmarked many recipes and intend to prepare them in the near future, but in the meantime they made me long for a dish I loved as a child, namely Egg Croquettes.

Egg Croquettes are an easy, comforting, home dish everyone seems to enjoy. They call for only three ingredients and are one of these dishes you can make when you think there is practically nothing left in the fridge. I have always used to serve them with a refreshing well-vinegared salad and some bread. This time, maybe keeping in mind the Japanese love for eggs I had them with a bowl of rice and it turned out to be an excellent option too. They make a perfect lunch, dinner, brunch or big breakfast and I am sure they would be an excellent picnic snack and why not a bento box item?

Actually I have “Japanised” these croquettes even more. They are usually shallow-fried, but since deep-frying is not only much quicker, but also less fat-absorbing, I decided to deep-fry them just like I proceed with the famous Japanese korokke (Potato and Meat Croquettes). They turned out better than all my previous egg croquettes and I will never go back to the traditional method. I have also found that Japanese panko crumbs created a crunchier, less soggy crust. Of course, if you prefer however shallow frying and standard breadcrumbs, I guarantee that such traditional croquettes will be excellent too.

Egg croquettes don’t require any sauce, but I have accidentally discovered that they are simply irresistible served with mayonnaise and Thick and Crunchy Japanese Sauce (Taberu Rayu). With all these Japanese touches I decided even to give it a Japanese name. I hope my Japanese friends will not scold me for this.

In case you are also a big egg fan, here are some recipes with eggs playing an important or main role:

-Spring Salad with a Fried Egg

-Smoked Mackerel and Egg Spread

-Tanindon (Rice Bowl with Eggs and Pork)

-Mixed Salad with a Fried Egg

-Bread Baskets with Eggs

-Oyakodon (Rice Bowl with Eggs and Chicken)

TIP: Even though it takes one more hour, I found out that refrigeration makes the forming process much easier: cold ingredients are simply stickier.

Preparation: 1 hour (or two, if you choose to refrigerate the egg mixture)

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

6 hard-boiled eggs

1 raw egg

4-5 tablespoons breadcrumbs (or more)

salt, pepper

5-6 tablespoons chopped chives or spring onions

breadcrumbs for coating (several tablespoons)

oil for shallow- or deep-frying

Chop the eggs as finely as you can (you can mix two of the eggs in a food processor to make the texture creamier, but not all of them!).

Combine them with the raw egg, the chopped chives or spring onion and season with salt and pepper.

Add gradually breadcrumbs until the mixture can be formed into balls (it depends on the egg size, the breadcrumbs, the chopping etc.).

(Putting the mixture into the fridge for one hour will make the forming process easier but you can start doing it straight away).

Preheat the oil in a pan.

Squeezing tightly the egg mixture, form balls and flatten them to round or oval patties (5 cm/2 in. diameter).

Coat them in breadcrumbs and shallow- or deep-fry.

If you deep-fry, my test for the right temperature is throwing some breadcrumbs into the pan. If they don’t fall down, but bubble and fry immediately, then the temperature is high enough.

Deep-frying will take only about one or two minutes. Shallow frying will take much longer (at least 15 minutes).

Put the croquettes on paper towels to remove excess oil and serve them either with bread or with rice.

Spring Rolls with Leftover Roast, Carrot and Mint

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What do you do with leftover roast? For many years I used to put it into salads, sandwiches or stir-fries and then one day I simply wrapped them in rice paper with some vegetables and glass noodles, making very unorthodox version of spring rolls. Since then this is the first thing I think about when I take out the leftover roast from the fridge. Spring rolls with leftover meat proved not only easy, quick and healthy, but most of all extremely versatile and convenient. They can be made with any vegetable found in the fridge, while rice paper and glass noodles can be stocked for long months or even years. If you have ever made spring rolls you probably know that they can be served for any meal of the day, as a starter, a snack or a main dish. They are also an excellent choice for a picnic, for packed lunch at work and I often prepare them for long car journeys instead of traditional sandwiches. (If you are not the one who drives, you can even dip them in a bowl of sauce!). Last but not least, they can be made well in advance and kept in the fridge for several days (as long as they are tightly wrapped in cling film).

The rolls can be served with any sauce of your choice, but my absolute favourite now is a mixture of soy sauce, chili oil and vinegar. It’s hot and slightly acid thank to the vinegar.

Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients (serves two):

2 big slices of roast chicken, turkey, pork, beef, lamb…

6-8 (22 cm or 8 3/4 in) rice paper sheets

1 small individual package of glass noodles (40 g)

2 big carrots

mint leaves

(roast sesame seeds)

Dipping sauce:

5 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce (or less if using standard soy sauce)
1 tablespoon chili oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Cover the noodles with boiling water. Put aside for 15 minutes.

In the meantime cut up the carrots into matchsticks and cut the roast slices into rectangular pieces.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Fill a big wide bowl with warm (not hot) water.

Dip rice paper sheets one by one in the water, immersing them delicately so that you don’t break them.

As soon as the sheet softens ( after about ten seconds), put it onto a chopping board.

Rinse the noodles.

Place horizontally a stack of the carrot and roast pieces, a bit of the noodles and the mint leaves close the the rice paper edge (the
one which is closest to you).

Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like them and roll tightly starting from the edge which is closest to you.

Proceed in the same way with the remaining rolls.

Serve them immediately as they are or cut in two horizontally.

If you wish to serve them later, wrap them individually in cling film because they dry out very quickly.

Japanese Chicken Pancake, or Tori no Okonomiyaki (鶏のお好み焼き)

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Okonomiyaki is one of the most brilliant inventions of the Japanese cuisine. Easy, quick, versatile and full of flavours, it is a dish one falls in love with at first bite and becomes instantly addicted to. I wrote here about my first impressions a couple of months ago and have never got tired of it since then. I must have prepared okonomiyaki for at least thirty different meals. As I said then, I still think that if well advertised this dish has a potential to become as popular and loved as pizza. If only the Japanese cuisine wasn’t associated with sushi, seaweed and miso soup, but with such universally enjoyable dishes as this one… To those who see it for the first time, okonomiyaki might look messy and/or unappetising, but in reality few people are able to resist it (I still have to meet someone who does).

As a reminder, “okonomiyaki” means “grill what you like/want” and apart from the several obligatory ingredients and toppings (which also depend on the region), this thick pancake can be made with practically anything. There are two main types of okonomiyaki: Hiroshima-style, containing noodles, and a lighter Osaka (Kansai) style. My okonomiyaki are rather Osaka-style (thank you, Hiroyuki). After numerous experiments, I have now two favourite versions: the mushroom okonomiyaki (click here to see the recipe) and chicken okonomiyaki I am presenting today. The latter has also become the most frequent version, because, as a big chicken fan, I always have chicken breasts either in the fridge or in the freezer. A Japanese friend told me she has never seen chicken okonomiyaki in her country, but since I can add whatever I like…

Okonomiyaki’s ingredients can be divided into three groups: the batter, the filling and the topping. The batter’s amount is small and it’s there only to bind the filling, which is often composed mainly of shredded/chopped cabbage. The toppings can be adapted to everyone’s taste, but in my opinion chives (or spring onion), mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce are obligatory. My favourite topping is composed of mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce, chopped chives and I put lots of my beloved dried bonito flakes. I know some Europeans who love okonomiyaki but hate dried bonito, so it can be omitted of course. Pickled ginger is one of the traditional toppings too, but somehow I prefer it as a side dish. One the other hand I always add chili sauce or paste (most often Taberu Rayu I wrote about here). Thanks to Hiroyuki‘s advice I no longer buy okonomiyaki sauce (which was too sweet for me anyway) and prepare my own sauce mixing ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. Thank you, Hiroyuki, for this precious recipe!

Visit Hiroyuki’s Blog on Japanese Cooking, Nami’s Just One Cookbook, Robert-Gilles’s Shizuoka Gourmet, Arudhi’s A Box of Kitchen to learn more about other okonomiyaki versions and Charles’s Five Euro Food to see a very European interpretation. I would like to thank them once more for inspiration.

TIPS: Okonomiyaki batter mixture can be bought in Japanese grocery shops or prepared from the scratch. Personally I am happy to prepare it from the scratch since it takes two minutes and I’m sure it tastes better. I have seen different batter recipes and mine is composed of an egg, some flour, some dashi (Japanese stock), salt, pepper, baking powder and, last but not least, grated mountain yam (or yamaimo in Japanese), a slimy cousin of the potato (I fin it in organic shops). When I don’t have yam or dashi, I simply omit them, trying to keep the same pancake-like texture. The result is still delicious, albeit slightly different. Dried shrimp is not obligatory either.

Okonomioyaki mixture can be prepared in advance and fried/grilled the following day. As an addict, I often make a double batch and have it two days in a row. (Actually I even had it recently for three meals in a row: a lunch, a dinner and a lunch the following day…).

Special equipment: a big pancake spatula is very useful to flip okonomiyaki

Preparation: 40 minutes

Ingredients (serves 2):

Batter:

5 tablespoons flour

30 ml (about 1/8 cup) dashi (Japanese stock, home-made or instant) or milk or a mixture of both

1 egg

3 cm grated mountain yam (yamaimo) (can be omitted, but then less flour should be added)

salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

(pepper)

Filling:

4 – 5 big white cabbage leaves chopped or finely cubed (the hard central “vein” removed)

1 chicken breast

1 tablespoon oil

8 thin slices of smoked streaky bacon, cut into bite-sized squares

(3 tablespoons dried tiny Japanese shrimp (sakura ebi); I don’t advise other types of shrimp or dried shrimp from other countries: they might be chewy and tough)

Topping:

dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi)

okonomiyaki sauce (or a mixture of ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce)

mayonnaise

chopped chives or spring onions

2 tablespoons oil

(chili paste, oil or sauce, such as Taberu Rayu)

Cut up the chicken breast into small cubes (1 cm x 1 cm). Season with salt and pepper, fry until golden brown and put aside.

In a big bowl combine the batter ingredients. Add the filling ingredients (except for the bacon!) and adjust their amount (the mixture should be very thick, not liquid and the batter should only bind the ingredients together and not dominate them).

Heat one tablespoon oil in a frying pan or on a smooth grill (called teppanyaki grill or la plancha).

Put half of the okonomiyaki mixture in a more or less round-shaped heap (you can adjust it on the pan).

Put the bacon slices on top, flatten delicately the pancake, but not too much. Otherwise it might fall into pieces when you turn it over. (My okonomiyaki is max. 1,5 cm/about 1/2 inch high)

Cover the pan and let it fry at medium heat for 5 – 10 minutes.

Turn the pancake over, cover once more and fry for another 5 minutes.

Repeat the same with the remaining batter.

Serve the bacon side up, topped with mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce, chives, dried bonito flakes and chili sauce/oil or paste.

Radish, Cucumber and Yogurt /Sour Cream Salad

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I woke up yesterday and, just after my obligatory coffee fix, all I could think of were pink radishes. As if hypnotised, I went to the market, bought two huge bunches of beautiful radishes, came back home, opened the fridge, took a cucumber, sliced it, then sliced some radishes, added soured milk (I had been craving this one too, see the explanation below), salted everything and literally threw myself on it (luckily, after a while, I controlled myself enough to save some of it for the photo).

I think I should listen more often to my cravings because the salad was exactly what I wanted for a sunny spring day. It was crunchy, refreshing, tangy and slightly peppery thanks to the radishes. It was inspired by a cucumber salad (vaguely Polish) I sometimes prepare, but the radishes made all the difference. The second batch I made also yesterday for dinner was a perfect side dish with fiery fried rice. Given the sour milk/cream cooling properties, I’m sure it will go well with any hot dish.

TIPS: I usually prepare this salad with sour milk which is almost as thick as sour cream (at least the one I buy), but is low-fat. You can use sour cream or natural yogurt or, even better, Greek yogurt instead (I would add a dash of lemon juice to the yogurt to obtain the slightly sour result).

This salad should be made just before you serve it, otherwise the vegetables will render liquid and the “sauce” will get watery.

Preparation: 10 minutes

Ingredients (serves one):

6-7 big red radishes

1/3 long cucumber

3 heaped tablespoons sour milk/cream or yogurt

salt

Cut the cucumber in four lengthwise and then into thin slices.

Cut the radishes into thin slices.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and serve.

Fresh Cheese Spread with Radish and Chives

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Simple combinations and cheap, basic products sometimes give amazing results and fresh cheese with chives is one of the best examples I know. Fresh cheese can be mixed with any herb you want, but in my opinion only chives make the combination perfect. Fresh Cheese and Chives Spread (I have written about it here) is one of my most distinct childhood food memories. I had it for breakfast, as a snack, as a light supper and my appetite for it has never decreased. In fact, even now this spread is my staple all year round. When spring vegetables appear, I do just like my mum and enrich it with chopped pink radishes. The crisp radish adds a strong peppery taste, makes the texture more interesting and embellishes the colour palette.

The fresh cheese I have in mind is called “curd cheese” and sometimes “farm” or “farmers cheese”, available in Polish/Russian/ Hungarian grocery shops all around the world. Curd cheese is widely used in Central and Eastern Europe (Russian творог, Polish twaróg or biały ser, Hungarian túró or Austrian Topfen are only some examples in both savoury and sweet dishes and is my absolute favourite in Baked Cheesecake (while its smooth, mixed version is ideal in Unbaked Cheesecake). Its texture might be described as something halfway between ricotta and feta, but its slightly tangy taste differs from both. Since it is produced by straining soured milk, curd cheese is a natural product and if low or medium-fat variety is used, it makes relatively healthy meals and desserts. (It shouldn’t be mixed up with the Canadian and US “cheese curds”!). This is how curd cheese, crushed with fork, looks like:

This spread is not only fresh, low-fat, quick and an excellent appetite suppressant, but it is one of the rare things which taste much better on wholemeal, black, crunchy bread or pumpernickel rather than white bread. The spread keeps for a couple of days in the fridge, in a closed container and tastes even better the following day, when the chives’ and radishes’ flavours are stronger. I always make a big batch to have it ready for breakfast or as a healthy snack.

TIP: If you cannot get curd/farmers cheese, you can use drained cottage cheese, but add some sour milk or sour cream or kefir (not yogurt) in order to make it tangy.

Other recipes calling for curd cheese:

-Potato and Curd Cheese Dumplings

-Pear and Curd/Cottage Cheese Pie

-Light and Moist Baked Cheesecake

-Fresh Cheese Spread with Chives

Preparation: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

150 g curd/farmers cheese (or drained cottage cheese)

4-6 tablespoons yogurt, kefir, sour milk or sour cream (or more if the cheese is dry)

salt

about 10 flat tablespoons chopped chives

7 -8 pink radishes, roughly chopped

Crush the curd cheese with a fork, add the yogurt, kefir or cream gradually, stirring until you obtain the desired consistency (this depends not only on the cheese brand, but also on your preferences).

If you use cottage cheese, crush the big grains with a fork before adding the yogurt.

Add the chives, the salt, the radishes, give it a good stir and taste if it’s salty enough.

Smoked Mackerel and Egg Spread

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When about two weeks ago Charles (Five Euro Food) posted the famous Kedgeree recipe, using smoked mackerel, I was very glad to discover a new way to prepare this delicious fish. In fact, even though I love smoked mackerel, I have been preparing it for many years in only one way. I promised Charles I would write about it, so here it is!

The addictive mackerel and egg spread you see above comes from Poland, where smoked Atlantic mackerel is very popular and often ends up prepared this way. The spread is very quick to prepare and makes a wonderful everyday sandwich filler (it keeps for several days in the fridge), but I also find it perfect as a canapé topping. Maybe it is due to the big egg content, but somehow I thought it could be a nice idea of an Easter snack.

This spread goes well with all types of bread (even the “diet” crunchy one), but the canapés you see above were a real hit. I made them with a recent find: tiny round slices of my beloved German pumpernickel bread. If you can find this bread, I strongly recommend it not only with this spread, but with any pickled or smoked fish.

TIP: If you cannot find smoked Atlantic mackerel, you can substitute it with another smoked fish, but choose the one which has very delicate, flaky flesh (smoked salmon is not a good substitute here).

Preparation: 10 minutes

Ingredients (makes about 300 ml):

150 g smoked Atlantic mackerel without skin or bones (I also discard the darkest flesh parts, because they tend to taste bitter)

2 hard-boiled eggs

1 big pickled cucumber (fermented in salted brine or pickled in vinegar, both are ok)

1/2 medium white or yellow onion (the red one I used looked better but was somewhat not strong enough here)

salt, pepper

2 – 3 heaped tablespoons mayonnaise

(chives to decorate)

Shred the fish with your fingers, discarding all the small bones and put it in a big bowl.

Chop the cucumber as finely as you can.

Chop finely the onion and the hard boiled eggs.

Combine all the ingredients with the shredded mackerel, add the mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper.

Mix everything with a fork. Taste, add some more salt and pepper if necessary (you may also want to add more onion or cucumbers depending on your preferences).

Serve cold.

Okonomiyaki お好み焼き, or Japanese Pancake with Eringi Mushrooms and Bacon

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Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き ) can be translated roughly as “grill what you like” (“okonomi” means “what you like/want” and ”yaki” means here “grilled”). This thick savoury pancake with an impressive variety ingredients might look weird, messy, not very appetising and definitely not photogenic, but I can assure you it is one of the most palatable dishes I have ever had in my life. In my opinion, if well advertised and popularised, okonomiyaki could conquer the whole world, just like Italian pizza did. It has certainly won over the whole Japan, even though it has origins in Osaka and Hiroshima. For me this is another example of a typically Japanese, but universally enjoyable dish. Depending on the ingredients and toppings, okonomiyaki could satisfy even the pickiest eaters and those who are afraid of the Japanese cuisine (yes, they do exist).

As its name suggests, okonomiyaki can be prepared with practically everything. At first it looks and tastes as if the ingredients were chosen randomly. In reality, in spite of many different okonomiyaki versions, there are certain recurring items such as a thick pancake batter, shredded or cubed cabbage or grated mountain yam (yamaimo). There are also two main okonomiyaki styles: Kansai (Osaka) and Hiroshima style. Both are very well described and accompanied by detailed recipes on Shizuoka Gourmet blog. Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki contains noodles, while Osaka (Kansai) style is lighter and doesn’t include them. My okonomiyaki is rather Osaka-style (thank you, Hiroyuki).

I heard – or rather read – about okonomiyaki for the first time on Hiroyuki’s blog on Japanese Cooking. Then I realised Robert-Gilles (Shizuoka Gourmet), Charles (Five Euro Food), Nami (Just One Cookbook) and Arudhi (A Box of Kitchen) have also posted okonomiyaki recipes. Hiroyuki’s award winning okonomiyaki included several types of mushrooms and was vegetarian, Nami’s recipe included squid, Arudhi’s shredded beef, Charles’s recipe was surprisingly Europeanised and free-style, while Robert-Gilles has posted a whole encyclopedia of different okonomiyaki styles, including the recipes… All these fascinating posts proved extremely useful, informative and helped me to choose the ingredients for my first experiment.

Here is my very first version of okonomiyaki. I must say it will be one of the most beautiful food memories of my life. The first bite of okonomiyaki is a magical experience. It is like an explosion of different flavours, colours and textures, which surprisingly stay in a perfect harmony. I love okonomiyaki also because it can be made with leftovers, because it is quick, healthy and because it encourages me to be creative. Thank you so much, my blogging friends, for your for help, inspiration, detailed information and, most of all, for making me discover this extraordinary dish.

My version doesn’t reproduce any of the mentioned okonomiyaki recipes because I have picked ideas from each of them and adapted to my taste. I wanted to keep my okonomiyaki as Japanese as possible, so I used dashi, dried shrimp, mountain yam, eringi and Japanese toppings too. I am very happy I have opted for the smoked and not raw bacon because it proved excellent here. If you want to start experimenting with okonomiyaki, I advise reading attentively all the above-mentioned posts and choosing what you feel will please you most.

TIPS: I find mountain yam (yamaimo) in organic shops in France, so maybe it is also easy to find in this type of shops in other countries.

Special equipment: a very big pancake turner is very useful here

Preparation: 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves two):

Batter:

50 g flour

30 ml dashi (Japanese stock, home-made or instant)

1 egg

3 cm grated mountain yam (yamaimo)

salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

(pepper)

Filling:

2 big white cabbage leaves chopped or finely cubed (the hard central “vein” removed)

2 handfuls chopped eringi mushrooms

5 tablespoons cubed smoked pork loin

4 tablespoons dried tiny Japanese shrimp (sakura ebi); I don’t advise other types of shrimp or dried shrimp from other countries: they might be chewy and tough

1 handful fresh mungo bean sprouts

4 thin slices of smoked streaky bacon

4 thin slices of eringi mushrooms

Topping:

dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi)

okonomiyaki sauce (I used tonkatsu sauce instead and it was great too)

ao nori (powdered light green seaweed)

mayonnaise

2 tablespoons oil

In a big bowl combine the batter ingredients except for the sliced bacon and sliced eringi. Add the filling ingredients and adjust their amount (the mixture should be very thick, not liquid and the batter should only bind the ingredients together and not dominate it).

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan or on a smooth grill (called teppanyaki grill or la plancha).

Put half of the okonomiyaki mixture in a more or less round-shaped heap (you can adjust it on the pan).

Put the bacon and eringi slices on top, flatten delicately the pancake, but not too much. Otherwise it might fall into pieces when you turn it over.

Cover the pan and let it fry at medium heat for 5 – 10 minutes.

Turn the pancake over, cover once more and fry for another 5 minutes.

Repeat the same with the remaining batter.

Serve the bacon side up, topped with mayonnaise, sauce, ao nori and dried bonito flakes.

Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkeum Bap) with Bacon

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kimchifriedricep

I suppose many of you will agree that fried rice is one of the most extraordinary dishes in the world. Whatever we use as ingredients, it always ends up, miraculously, as a flavoursome meal. I am often surprised how good it is compared to some “standard” preparations, where I follow the recipe and respect the ingredients’ list. Naturally, when I learnt about fried rice with kimchi, I had to test this Korean version of fried rice.

For those who haven’t heard about kimchi or haven’t read my previous posts, kimchi (김치) is a very ancient Korean preparation of seasoned fermented vegetables. According to Wikipedia the oldest references to kimchi go back as far as 3000 years ago. Apart from the chili, garlic, ginger and scallions are the most frequent ingredients of the most popular, fiery kimchi version. Kimchi has a very powerful smell, but once you taste it and love it, the smell will never be associated with anything unpleasant. It is spicy, hot, sour and, like most fermented vegetable preparations, very healthy. High in fiber, low in calories and fat, it is packed with vitamin C (thanks to the fermentation) and carotene. It also contains several other vitamins, helps digestion, is said to prevent certain cancers… In short: it’s a wonder food. Its importance in the Korean cuisine cannot be compared to anything in any European food culture I know. It is not only eaten as a side dish, but also put into warm dishes, for example… fried rice.

Kimchi can be made with different vegetables, but the most popular are white radish (daikon) and Chinese (Napa) cabbage kimchi. Until now I have experimented with both (Kkakdugi 깍두기, or Cubed Radish Kimchi, and Mak Kimchi, or Easy Chinese Cabbage Kimchi). Mature and well fermented Chinese cabbage kimchi is the one used in warm dishes, so I waited for its flavours to develop and decided to combine it with fried rice.

Since it was my first attempt to use kimchi this way, I decided, exceptionally, to follow a precise recipe. I have chosen Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkeum Bap) with Bacon found on Hyosun Ro’s Eating and Living. It was easy, quick, convenient and tasted heavenly. The most surprising part was that the complexity of flavours created by the ripe, well fermented kimchi. It was difficult to believe that soy sauce and chili paste were the only seasonings. Thank you, Hyosun Ro, for introducing me to this amazing version of fried rice.

I have respected the recipe, but changed a bit the proportions, added some frozen peas I often mix with rice and substituted bacon with smoked pork loin. I have also skipped gochujang because I didn’t feel like very hot dishes (my kimchi was quite hot).

TIP: As Hyosun Ro advises, the previous day rice is the best here. If slightly microwaved, it breaks easily into grains during the frying process.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves two):

about 200 g (1 cup) cooked short grain rice (I used the Japanese rice)

1 onion (sliced)

1 small carrot julienned or diced

about 100 g bacon, diced (or other smoked pork cut; I used smoked pork loin)

8 heaped tablespoons Chinese cabbage kimchi, drained and cut into bite-sized pieces

(5-6 tablespoons frozen peas)

4 tablespoons juice from kimchi

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean chili paste)

(green onion)

1-2 tablespoons canola oil (to fry)

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

Heat some canola oil in the pan and fry the bacon (do not brown it).

(You can remove the fat if the bacon rendered too much of it).

Add onion, kimchi, gochujang and carrot.

Stir-fry for about 5 minutes.

(If using, add the frozen peas and stir-fry for two minutes).

Add the rice, the soy sauce and the kimchi juice.

Stir-fry for another 5 minutes scrapping the delicious browned parts that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Combine with sesame oil just before serving and serve with chopped green onion (optional).

Tanindon (他人丼) or Tanin Donburi with Ginger

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Some of you certainly know (and others maybe remember from my previous post) Oyakodon, a delicious Japanese rice bowl with chicken fried with eggs and onion. Oyakodon (親子丼) or Oyako Donburi (meaning parent and child – i.e. chicken meat and egg – bowl) is the most famous variation of donburi dishes (rice bowl with a topping) and one of the most frequent meals I prepare. In fact, since I made it for the first time it has been on my table for every single Sunday brunch.

When I published Oyakodon recipe, Hiroyuki (from Hiroyuki’s Blog on Japanese Cooking) has drawn my attention to a less famous tanindon (他人丼), “stranger bowl”, prepared more or less like oyakodon, but with beef or pork instead of chicken. Both oyakodon and tanindon are traditionally served with mistuba leaves and when about two weeks ago, I saw a small mitsuba sprig still growing on my balcony I thought it was probably the last chance this year to make tanindon with mitsuba leaves.

I have followed the Oyakodon recipe, choosing pork of which I am very fond of. I have sliced it very thinly and marinated in ginger and sake. Tanindon proved an very flavoursome oyakodon alternative, with a stronger and livelier taste, but still keeping the same comforting dish character. Even though oyakodon will always have a special place in my heart, the pork version of this donburi, or rice bowl, has also become a staple. Thank you, Hiroyuki, for giving me this wonderful idea!

I usually prepare it with freshly cooked rice and freshly fried meat, but both oyakodon and tanindon are excellent ways to use up leftovers.

TIP: The egg(s) shouldn’t be mixed like when you make scrambled eggs. It should be delicately stirred and the best tool here is a chopstick. You should obtain an egg white with “ribbons” of yolk.

Before I pass to the recipe I would like to express my gratitude to Barbara from Profiteroles and Ponytails for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you, Barbara! I am very proud and flattered by this distinction. The Award consists in revealing some personal facts and giving the award to other bloggers, but since someone has kindly passed me this award not a long time ago, I hope Barbara will not mind if I simply link to the related post (click here).

Preparation: 25 minutes

Ingredients (serves one):

a portion of freshly cooked rice

50 g pork, thinly sliced and cut into 1 cm strips

salt

pepper

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon sake

1 small shallot or spring onion, thinly sliced

1- 2 eggs, slightly stirred (see the TIP above)

Sauce:

50 ml dashi (Japanese stock)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon sake

sprigs of mitsuba

Season the pork slightly with salt and pepper, add sake, ginger and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

Fry it or deep-fry it and when it’s almost done, put it aside.

Fry the onions in the same pan and add all the sauce ingredients (previously combined together).

Lower the heat and bring it to boil.

Add the pork and cook together until it is done (do not overcook).

(Here, if you judge the sauce amount is too big, discard some of the sauce. Using the above amounts of liquids I have never felt like discarding it).

Pour the egg over the sauce with pork and, without mixing, wait until it is cooked. (I don’t like runny eggs, so they are always well cooked, but the consistency depends on personal preferences).

Put some hot rice into a bowl and transfer the egg and pork topping onto the rice.

Garnish with mitsuba sprigs.

Cake with Shrimp and Edamame/Shrimp and Edamame Bread

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I have fallen in love with edamame a couple of months ago. These bright green, kidney-shaped young soy beans are the healthiest and one of the most delicious snacks I know. In Japanese edamame (枝豆) means twig bean and it designs not only the beans themselves but the simple snack of boiled edamame, often served in izakaya bars. Young soy beans are also eaten in China and Hawaii, but the Japanese seem to be particularly fond of them.

Apart from their big advantages as a light, rich in protein snack, edamame beans can easily be blended into all sorts of preparations and their lovely green hue embellishes every dish. I love mixing them with rice, stir-fried dishes or putting them in soups. When a couple of days ago I started to look for an original New Year’s Eve snack idea, edamame instantly came to my mind. I decided to make a Japanese version of the French savoury cake I wrote about ten days ago (click here), adding also shrimp, sesame seeds and “moisturising” the cake with silken tofu instead of the usual quark cheese.

I must say I was very pleased with the results of this surprisingly easy experiment. Apart from the beautiful, bright, Spring colours, this French-Japanese cake is moist, light, delicately flavoured and, in spite of being boiled and baked, edamame add a slightly crunchy note. If you still have time to buy edamame and shrimp, this might be a good idea for an original New Year’s Eve appetiser. It will certainly go well with a glass of white wine, champagne, shochu or sake.

Happy New Year, my dear friends!

Preparation: 1h15

Ingredients (for a 30 cm x 10 cm (about 12 x 4 inches) baking dish or two 4 cm x 30 cm (about 1,6 x 12 inches) dishes):

200 g (7 oz) silken tofu (or 200 g quark cheese/fromage blanc + 125 ml milk (approx. 1/2 cup) )

50 ml oil (approx. 1/5 cup)

250 ml flour (approx. 1 cup)

1 flat tablespoon salt

4 eggs

1 package baking powder (16 g/ about 0.5 oz)

200 g (7 oz) cooked edamame beans

200 g (7 oz) cooked and shelled shrimps or prawns, cut into pieces (unless they are very small)

(2 tablespoons sesame seeds)

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Mix the eggs, the tofu (or the cheese+milk), the flour, the baking powder and the oil in a food processor until the batter is smooth (if you use the cheese you don’t need a food processor; a spoon is enough to combine everything). Season with salt. Add the edamame beans and the shrimp. Stir delicately.

Grease a rectangular 30 x 10 cm baking dish or line it with baking paper.

Pour the cake preparation. (Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like them.)

Bake one hour or until the cake is golden brown. Let it cool down. Serve it sliced and then cut into 2 or 4 bite-sized pieces or, if using as a sandwich alternative, simply cut into slices.

Cake with Ham and Olives/Bread with Ham and Olives

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We are just a few days before Christmas and I thought that an easy festive snack idea might be welcome (even though this one is dug out from my old posts, where, maybe due to an old unappealing photo, it passed unnoticed). I have chosen this cake since I bake it very often when I have guests and I find it crowd-pleasing, especially if made with such popular ingredients like olives, ham or sun-dried tomatoes. It also has other advantages. The preparation is very quick, easy and the ingredients’ choice is infinite. The most popular combination seems to be the one you see above (I sometimes also add dried tomatoes), but it can be made with leftover roast, vegetables, nuts, cheese…

Savoury cakes are very popular in France and never called “bread” because in most French regions even visually bread has got nothing to do with a square, moist loaf. In fact they are called by English name “cake”, but pronounced “kek”. Do not look for them in restaurants or cafés. They are a kind of home dish served at a party, on a picnic and they are an excellent alternative to sandwiches: for a long trip, breakfast, quick lunch at work, etc..

A good savoury cake shouldn’t be dry and most recipes call for important amounts of oil. This certainly gives a soft texture, but makes the cake too greasy for my taste (and waistline!). After several – sometimes tragical – attempts to modify the recipe I have discovered that the smooth quark cheese (also called fromage blanc) is an excellent “softener”, giving the necessary moisture. I add a bit of oil too since it gives a better texture. Quark cheese is here an invisible magician – unless you reveal it, no one will ever guess its presence! I have been making it for many years, always with the quark cheese base, and have never seen anyone discover this ingredient.

TIPS: The cake should be served cold and it can be made in advance, wrapped in cling film and kept in the fridge for two-three days.

Quark cheese/fromage blanc is smooth and has a very thick yogurt-like consistency (a bit softer than cream cheese). It can contain up to 40% fat, but I always use the lightest one. I think it’s available in most, at least Western countries.

I have good news for those living in Asian countries where this cheese might be impossible to find: silken tofu is an ideal substitution. Since it contains more water than this cheese, use 200 g tofu and skip the milk.

If you manage to find a narrow and long baking dish (I have bought a 4 cm x 30 cm one at sales), it produces cute, two-bite sized, elegant snack slices.

Preparation: 1h15

Ingredients (for a 30 cm x 10 cm (12 x 4 inches) baking dish or two 4 cm x 30 cm (1,6 x 12 inches) dishes):

200 g (7 oz) quark cheese (fromage blanc) (or 200 g silken tofu and skip the milk)

125 ml milk (approx. 1/2 cup)

50 ml oil (approx. 1/5 cup)

250 ml flour (approx. 1 cup)

1 flat tablespoon salt

pepper

4 eggs

1 package baking powder (16g)

1 tablespoon thyme

10-14 tablespoons chopped olives

200g (7 oz) ham, bacon, other smoked pork cuts etc. cut into 1/2 cm cubes

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

If using the raw smoked meat, grill it on an empty frying pan until it changes the colour. If you have chosen smoked and cooked ham, simply skip this step.

Mix the eggs, the cheese, the flour, the milk, the baking powder and the oil with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

ATTENTION! If you use silken tofu, you need to mix the batter in a food processor or a blender.

Add the rest. Stir well.

Grease a rectangular 30 x 10 cm baking dish or line it with baking paper.

Pour the cake preparation. Bake 1 hour or until the cake is golden brown. Let it cool down. Serve cut into slices and then into 2 or 4 bite-sized pieces or, if using as a sandwich alternative, simply cut into slices.

Light Chicken Terrine (Pâté) with Nutmeg

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patepp

Few dishes are comparable to the taste of a good, home-made baked pâté or terrine, especially when it brings back pleasant memories. The smell coming from the oven instantly transports me to my childhood days and makes me feel there is something festive and joyful in the air.

Pâtés can be made with any kind of meat and with different methods. In France most of them are either made with pork or with duck and consist in baking a mixture of roughly cut raw meat and/or liver with spices. “Terrine” is a very similar product, but apart from meat or liver, it can also be made with fish, seafood, vegetables or even fruit and is always baked in a rectangular dish, while pâté can be soft and “spreadable”.

The terrines I have been making for years (they could also be called pâtés in France I suppose, but I think “terrine” is the best name here) are based on my mum’s recipe and differ a lot from the French ones. Not only are they made with previously cooked meat and liver, but they are also very finely ground and, most of all, there is the amazing nutmeg which is the key ingredient here. Preparing them always puts me in a festive mood and I have always considered home-made terrine/pâté as the ideal dish for this occasion.

As a notorious recipe changer I have fiddled a bit with my mum’s recipe and worked out several versions. Today I wanted to present you the lightest one, but certainly not the least palatable, made with poultry. The preparation is long, but very simple. Once it has cooled down, the pâté/terrine can be kept in the fridge for about one week or frozen until the day we want to use it. It can be served as a starter, as a snack, on small canapés or crackers and it goes particularly well with all kinds of pickles (pickled pepper, gherkins, onions, beetroots and even kimchi!) and cranberry or bilberry jam/sauce. Personally I love it with a fiery horseradish sauce and/or my Pickled Sweet Peppers.

TIPS: As the recipe title suggests, nutmeg is the main seasoning, so unless you hate it, do not skip it (at least for the first time). Every time I tried omitting it and putting other seasonings instead, I was very disappointed. Do use freshly grated nutmeg because it loses its aroma very quickly.

As I have mentioned above, this terrine/pâté can be frozen in big or small portions and even though the crust will not be crunchy, the taste will stay more or less the same.

You can use either deboned, skinless turkey or chicken cuts or a whole small chicken. The latter version will of course take a bit more time, but it can prove cheaper. If you want, you can skin the chicken before the first, cooking stage. This way the stock you add to the pâté will be less fatty.

Preparation: 2,5 – 3 hours + cooling time

Ingredients (fills a 20 cm x 10 cm baking tin):

500 g/about 20 oz turkey or chicken breast, or a mixture of leg and breast meat or a whole small chicken

green part of 1 leek

1 parsley root or a couple of parsley branches

1/4 celeriac or 2 branches celery

1 big carrot

1 medium onion

100 g/about 4 oz chicken livers

2 slices white, sandwich bread

1/2 nutmeg (freshly grated)

3 heaped tablespoons semolina

pepper, salt

2 eggs

2-3 tablespoons oil or duck fat

(dry breadcrumbs)

When the meat or the chicken are cooked, remove them from the stock and wait until they cool down.

Pour 500 ml/about 17 fl oz of the stock into a small pan and cook the livers for 15 minutes.

Put the livers aside.

Place delicately the bread slices in the stock remaining after the livers have been cooked and let them soak for one minute.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the mixed meat into a bowl.

Add the nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper and taste if there is enough salt (this is the best moment to taste; afterwards tasting might be a bit unpleasant with raw eggs and semolina).

Stir in the eggs, the semolina and about 125 ml (1/2 cup) of the stock in which the meat was cooked at the beginning.

Mix well with a spoon.

Line a baking tin with baking paper or grease it and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Spoon the terrine into the baking tin, smooth the surface with a spoon and sprinkle it with oil or melted duck fat.

Bake about one hour until the top is golden brown and don’t pay attention to the unpleasant smell from the oven.

After it cools down either freeze it or keep it refrigerated (tightly wrapped in cling film) for one week.

Miso Soup with Shrimp and Tofu

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I usually drink only a big coffee for breakfast and don’t start being hungry before 10 am. If I happen to work at home, this is the moment when I have my late breakfast and my absolute favourite meal is miso soup (miso shiru 味噌汁). It is quick, healthy, full of proteins, low in carbs and quick to prepare. In short, a perfect breakfast. However, by soup miso I don’t mean the tiny bowl which is a part of traditional Japanese meals. I have my miso soup in a bigger bowl and the ingredients I add are often more then unorthodox.

For those who have never had or made a miso soup, it is composed of dashi (Japanese stock) and miso (fermented soybean paste). The most popular dashi version seems to be made with dried bonito flakes and konbu (a type of seaweed). It can be bought ready-to-use, but making dashi at home is very easy and in some countries (like in Switzerland) it is simply cheaper. I make my dashi stock every other week, in big batches, and then store it in the fridge, ready to be reheated. For me the biggest advantage of a home-made dashi is the lack of salt (present in instant dashi). It means I can add more of the delicious miso paste or soy sauce when using my stock. (Click here to see Primary and Secondary Dashi recipes.) Apart from the miso soup, dashi is necessary in many Japanese dishes, such as Fish in Barbarian-Style Marinade, Oyakodon or Udon Soup.

Going back to the miso soup, I always make sure it is packed with proteins, which keep my hunger away for much longer than anything rich in carbs. Tofu is the most frequent ingredient I add, but I also like to use leftover cooked vegetables, mushrooms, seafood or meat. Shrimps are among my favourites; I often have them in my freezer and they are very quick to cook. Today, apart from the shrimps, I have also added some of my beloved firm tofu and sprinkled everything with frozen dill, which is not only ideal for shrimps, but, strangely, goes perfectly well with miso soup on its own. If someone had told me a year ago that dill is the ideal seasoning in miso soup, I wouldn’t believe it, but now I keep it chopped and frozen all year especially for my regular shrimp soups.

Preparation: 15 minutes

Ingredients (serves one):

300 ml dashi stock

6 medium cooked shrimps

60 g tofu cut into cubes (I prefer the firm one here)

1/2 teaspoon fresh or frozen chopped dill

1 heaped tablespoon miso

Combine the dashi with miso.

Add the shrimps and the tofu and heat in a small pan, stirring from time to time.

(Do not let it boil!).

When the soup acquires the desired temperature (I prefer it warm, not hot), pour it into a bowl and sprinkle with chopped dill.

Mixed Salad with a Fried Egg, or Salade composée

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This is one of the dishes I have been preparing for ages and would have never thought of posting about if it hadn’t been for the fact that not a single one of my friends or family members makes it. A couple of days ago the Tandoori-Style Salad on Baking Devils’s blog has reminded me I have been planning this post for some time and that warm September days are probably still a good period to write about a nourishing, but light salad.

“Salade composée” (mixed salad) is not something you will find in standard French cookery books. You also have slim chances of being served it in a French house and in most French restaurants. I first tasted it when a friend took me for lunch in Paris announcing we would go to a very cheap restaurant serving most extraordinary salads. The restaurant was cheap indeed, it served only salads (all based on lettuce), each of them looked very exotic to me for one reason: they all had a fried egg or/and other warm ingredients served on top and were really huge. Since then I have noticed only some cheap, quick, small restaurants serve this kind of salads and you don’t find them in every French city. The only exception is Lyon. “Salade lyonnaise” is very similar (it contains bacon, green leaves, croûtons and poached eggs), but I have already seen it served there with boiled eggs or without eggs.

One day I decided to prepare my own “salade composée” and since then I have prepared hundreds of them, every time different, but every time with two permanent items: lettuce (or other green leaves) and a fried egg. It is healthy, quick, easy and could be called “put-whatever-you-want” salad (but, please, don’t skip the fried egg!). Technically this salad is great fun to eat. First, you serve it in a big bowl, which usually contains the green salad for the whole family. Secondly, everyone has his or her own method and order of eating it. Some start by combining everything with the dressing, others leave the fried egg for the end and have it soaked in the dressing. When served for the first time, people always wonder where to start, which is quite amusing to observe. I always eat a bit of the salad and then break the liquid egg yolk, so that it blends with the salad ingredients and the vinaigrette sauce…

This salad is great for a weekend brunch, lunch and dinner. Apart from the fried egg I also like putting some other warm ingredients, like grilled bacon/sirloin/chorizo or cheese cubes. If you are vegetarian, skip the ham/bacon and put some cheese or tofu for extra proteins (check the Tandoori marinated tofu on Baking Devils, it really sounds amazing). It can be served simply with good bread, but goat cheese toasts are perfect too.

Preparation: 15 minutes

Ingredients (serves one):

5 – 7 iceberg or other salad leaves

1 big tomato (I used 5 mini San Marzano tomatoes)

several cucumber slices

1 big slice of ham/grilled sirloin or bacon or any other cold meat (I used smoked and grilled sirloin)

1 egg (or two if you feel very hungry!)

Vinaigrette with mustard:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 heaped teaspoon mustard

3 tablespoons vinegar of your choice (balsamico tastes great here, but I often use rice vinegar)

(chopped chives or other herbs)

salt and pepper

Take a big bowl (for example with 20 cm diameter).

Tear the salad leaves, cut the tomato into pieces, slice the cucumber.

Cut the ham or sirloin into bite-sized pieces.

Arrange the salad, the tomato, the cucumber and the ham in the bowl.

Prepare the salad dressing and pour it over the salad.

Heat a pan and fry an egg.

Put the egg on the top of the salad, sprinkle some salt and pepper over it and, if you have, chopped herbs.

Serve with bread or toast.

Aji no hiraki (鯵の開き), or Salted and Grilled Horse Mackerel

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Aji no hiraki (鯵の開き) is probably the least photogenic dish I have ever made. This is the reason why I have waited several months and went through at least a dozen of long photo sessions before posting this recipe. Every time I prepared this dish I took photos and every time they looked as scary and as uninviting as the one you see above. I decided to post it anyway, hoping you will believe me if I say it has an extraordinary taste and figures on the top 5 list of my favourite fish dishes. In short, appearances can be deceptive.

The first time I stumbled upon aji no hiraki was on Hiroyuki’s blog on Japanese Cooking. It was on the long list of dishes featured in my beloved Japanese manga and film series, Shinya Shokudo 深夜食堂 (Late-Night Diner). Unfortunately, the manga wasn’t translated, so I cannot read it, but the film is moving, full of subtle humour and if the bar where all the episodes are filmed existed, I would love to be there every night. Every episode focuses on a particular dish and a character and I really regret the series has only one, short season. Here is the theme song I also adore:

Anyway, aji no hiraki (鯵の開き), or cut-open and grilled horse mackerel, is featured in the manga 68th episode and the 9th episode of the series (thank you, Hiroyuki, for the correction!). After my questions about the mysterious dish, Hiroyuki kindly promised to make it, take the photos and publish the recipe, the things for which I will always be very grateful. (See here his detailed photos and helpful instructions). The preparation consists of cutting open the whole fish (head included), soaking it in a brine and then drying it in the sun. Afterwards the horse mackerel is grilled.

Drying in the sun requires two factors: a sunny, warm weather (but not too hot and preferably a bit windy) and a drying net. Unfortunately I don’t have a special drying net, which keeps off the flies and other bugs (not to mention the lack of the sun the first time I made it), so I decided to dry my fish in a slightly warm oven (65°C). I suppose sun-dried mackerel tastes better, but I was completely satisfied with my oven drying too! Of course soaking, drying and grilling are easy steps, although time-consuming. The stage I find particularly tricky is cutting open the fish If you have a good fishmonger who knows how to cut open the fish (something i have never seen in Europe), you will skip the only difficult part. If you don’t have this possibility (like me), Hiroyuki referred to this website (in Japanese) with very helpful fish preparation photos.

Even after several times the cutting open process is not an easy one for me, but the final result is definitely worth it. The mackerel acquires a very deep, buttery taste, reminding me of a slightly smoked fish. Even though it’s a Japanese recipe, after many tests I must say it tastes the best with crunchy baguette spread with butter. I hope you will not be shocked if I say it’s a wonderful, nourishing and healthy breakfast dish. Thank you, Hiroyuki, for introducing to me this fantastic and unusual delicacy!

Special equipment:

a toothbrush to clean off the fish blood

(a drying net if you dry the fish in the sun)

Preparation: 5-6 hours (can be done in two days)

Ingredients (serves 2-4):

4 medium-sized horse mackerels (aji)

1 litre water

50 g salt

Cut the fish belly and remove the innards.

If you want, you can scale it, but I didn’t.

Cut the fish lengthwise from the head to the tail, very carefully so that you don’t cut it through.

Remove the gills (at this step the head sometimes falls off… so be careful) and wash the fish with a toothbrush, removing the slightest traces of blood.

(Look at this website for a detailed description.)

Dissolve the salt in the water and soak the fish for about 40 minutes. (If the final result is too salty or not salty enough, the following time increase the soaking time).

Dry the fish with paper towels, but don’t rinse it.

Put it in the net and sun-dry first open side up, then open side down for minimum 4 hours up to half a day (it depends on the sun and temperature).

If you want to dry the fish in the oven, preheat the oven to 65°C.

Put the fish on a sheet of baking paper.

Dry for about 4 hours, first the open side up, then the skin side up.

(At this stage you can grill the fish or put it into the fridge and grill it the following day.)

Preheat the oven upper grill (broiler), put the fish the open side up and grill until slightly golden (I like mine a bit drier, so I grill it more).

Serve with whatever you want, but do try with buttered crunchy baguette.

Bread Baskets with Eggs

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Yesterday I realised experiments and discoveries have recently dominated my blog (hence the overwhelming presence of the Japanese cuisine I become more and more fond of). Meanwhile, I was forgetting the dishes I have been doing for years. I thought they might also prove unknown and interesting for some of you and decided to dig through my old recipes more often.

This funny looking bread basket is one of my beloved lunch or brunch dishes. Sliced bread formed into a basket, filled with egg and ham, is simple, amusing and can be adapted to everyone’s taste or food restrictions. I still remember I found this recipe several years ago in “Si simple, si bon!” (So good, so simple) by Josée di Stasio, a Québec tv food program star and I highly recommend this book to everyone looking for easy recipes with sometimes very impressing results (unfortunately i have no idea if it was published in English).

Josée di Stasio calls this dish “ramekins”, but I thought the word “basket” was more appropriate. She also recommends baking the bread baskets in muffin moulds, but I usually prefer individual baking dishes (ramekins) which are higher and make bigger baskets. Retrieving the baskets from the ramekins may be delicate, but somehow even such a clumsy person like me has always succeeded.

Special equipment:

muffin moulds or individual round baking dishes, about 8 cm diameter (if the bread slices are 10×10 cm, but if they are bigger, take bigger ramekins)

Preparation: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients (for one bread basket):

1 slice sandwich bread

1 big (or several smaller) slice(s) ham or other cold meat (salami, chorizo, bacon), I used smoked pork loin here

1 egg

butter

salt, pepper

(mustard)

Roll out the bread thinly with a rolling pin.

Cut off the crust (it burns easily).

Spread some butter on one side of the slice.

Butter the ramekin.

Arrange the slice, buttered side, in the ramekin so that it forms a basket.

(Put some mustard on it if you like to spice up the dish.)

Cover the bread with the slice or slices of ham.

Break one egg over the ham.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Put into the oven and bake until the egg white is completely set.

Take out of the baked baskets (separating from the walls with a knife and then scooping out with a spoon should do the trick) and serve hot with a green salad or for example the Tomato Shiso Salad.

Marmite Muffins

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Marmite is a British dark brown spread made from brewer’s yeast, a by-product in the the beer industry. It has a very characteristic strong taste and either you love it or hate it (I love it of course). Launched in 1902 Marmite became very popular during the two world wars, when, due to its high vitamin B content, it was an important element of soldiers’ rations and became very useful in times when the vitamin deficiency was very frequent. Marmite was first sold in earthenware pots, shaped like a casserole dish, hence the name coming from the French world “marmite” (meaning “casserole” and pronounced “marmeet”). Australian and New Zealand Vegemite, as well as Australian Promite are very similar products. In Europe I think only the Swiss have a Marmite equivalent, called Cenovis (from the Latin “cenare”, to eat, and “vis” “strength”), which also used to be a staple in the army.

I have never tasted Vegemite or Promite, but I like Cenovis as much as Marmite and couldn’t really say which one I prefer. For me Marmite has an enticing and highly addictive smell and flavour. I even suspect it of being rich in umami (the famous 5th taste). Until now I have only had both spreads on buttered bread, but have always wanted to use them in more elaborate preparations.

When I saw the Sweet – Savoury Marmite Cake on the Baking Devils blog, I thought it was a perfect recipe to embark on a series of cooking adventures with Marmite. I was right, since this first “baking with Marmite” experiment gave extraordinary and original results, appreciated even by avowed Marmite haters. Thank you, Baking Devils, for this delicious recipe!

I have slightly modified the Baking Devils‘ recipe, mainly reducing the sugar and butter amounts and putting more Marmite, but most of all, as a big fan of individual snacks, I decided to make muffins instead of a big cake. I have filled some cups 3/4 full and some 1/2 full. I definitely preferred the latter, lower muffins, more “marmitey” and more addictive. These muffins are perfect for a savoury breakfast or afternoon tea. Baked in mini-muffin forms, they would make intriguing appetisers or party snacks.

If you want to learn more about Marmite, visit the http://www.marmite.co.uk website. For those interested in Cenovis, there is http://www.cenovis.ch (only in French or German).

Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins, with cups filled 1/2 full):

120 g flour

3 eggs

50 g sugar

1 teaspoon salt

25 g butter

3 teaspoons baking powder

150 ml water

Topping:

6 tablespoons melted butter

4 teaspoons Marmite

50 g grated cheese (I used gruyère)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Mix the butter with sugar in a food processor.

Add gradually flour and eggs, continuously mixing.

Add the remaining ingredients.

Fill the muffin forms 1/2 full and bake about 15 minutes.

Combine the Marmite with the melted butter and spread on the hot muffins.

Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Put under the oven broiler/grill and grill until the cheese melts.

Serve warm or cold.

Oyakodon or Oyako Donburi (親子丼)

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Oyakodon or Oyako Donburi belongs to the “donburi” dishes category. Donburi (丼) means either a rice bowl or a rice-bowl dish and includes many quick Japanese rice dishes with different toppings. Oyakodon (親子丼) means “parent and child donburi” and this charming name refers to its main ingredients: chicken and eggs. Oyakodon is apparently the most popular of all the donburi dishes and the first one I have ever prepared (or tasted). I have decided to publish the recipe just before the weekend, since I feel this is a perfect weekend breakfast, brunch or lunch idea!

Since it is very popular, I have heard or read about oyakodon hundreds of times and had been meaning to prepare it for a long time. When I saw an oyakodon photo on Shizuoka Gourmet’s blog, it reminded me I still haven’t tried this apparently quick and easy dish. When, in one of the following Shizuoka Gourmet’s posts the author gave an extremely detailed and well explained oyakodon recipe, I simply couldn’t resist. I had chicken, I had eggs (not to mention the rice) and prepared it for lunch the same day. It was so delicious, easy and quick, I also had it for lunch the following day! I already feel it will be one of my favourite and most frequently prepared Japanese dishes (or rather dishes in general). Thank you Robert-Gilles!

Now that I had it twice, “versatile” is probably the word I would use to describe oyakodon. Depending on the circumstances and personal habits, this dish is perfect for a nourishing breakfast, lunch, Sunday brunch, afternoon snack and a quick late-night dinner. It is also versatile in the sense that, contrary to some Japanese dishes, this one will be enjoyed even by those who approach the Japanese cuisine sceptically. In my opinion it has a universal taste with a slight Japanese hint.

The amounts of the below ingredients can be adjusted according to your personal preferences. I used here a low-sodium soy sauce and have put quite a lot of chicken (especially when I compare my very messy bowl to the photo on the Shizuoka Gourmet’s blog). I was also lucky to have mitsuba leaves, grown patiently on my balcony (thank you Hiroyuki for the kind gardening advice!), but I suppose any green fresh herb of your choice can be used, e.g. chives which go very well with eggs.

It is best with freshly made rice and freshly fried chicken, but it can also be a good idea to use leftover meat and the leftover, heated rice. If you are very hungry, I would advise two eggs per person.

Preparation: 15 minutes

Ingredients (serves one):

a portion of freshly cooked rice

50 g chicken meat, cut into bite-sized pieces

salt

pepper

1 small shallot or spring onion, thinly sliced

1 -2 eggs, slightly stirred (see the tip above)

Sauce:

50 ml dashi (Japanese stock)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon sake

sprigs of mitsuba

Season the chicken slightly with salt and pepper.

Fry it or deep-fry it and when it’s almost done, put it aside.

Fry the onions in the same pan and add all the sauce ingredients.

Lower the heat and bring it to boil.

Add the chicken and cook together until it is done (do not overcook).

(Here, if you judge the sauce amount is too big, discard some of the sauce. Using the above amounts of liquids I have never felt like discarding it).

Pour the egg over the sauce with chicken and, without mixing, wait until it is cooked. (I don’t like runny eggs, so they are always well cooked, but the consistency depends on personal preferences).

Put some hot rice into a bowl and transfer the egg and chicken topping onto the rice.

Garnish with mitsuba sprigs.

Black Pudding and Gochujang Toast

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I know in the Spring I should normally start craving light green salads, raw vegetables, grilled fish… but what can I do if one day I know I simply must have some black pudding? Apparently black pudding – also called blood sausage – contains a lot of iron (it is made mainly of blood) and since I don’t eat much beef, another iron provider, I suppose I might lack it quite often. Another thing is I am a huge fan of good black pudding, so frankly I don’t know whether my craving is a need or a very strong urge to have something delicious.

Practically most European countries have their own versions of black pudding and whenever I can, I love discovering new ones. Some are excellent, some weird and some uneatable. Apart from the blood, black puddings usually contain some offal and, to keep a firm shape, rice, bread crumbs, buckwheat or barley are added. In France, where I buy my black pudding (not here in Switzerland, where all the black puddings I had were too bland for my taste), usually the fat and onions are the “filling” ingredients, but some regions use rice. Every butcher has his own version of black pudding (boudin noir), though the differences within the same region are tiny. The problem – which doesn’t arise in certain countries – is when it gets hot, the French simply stop buying black pudding and most butchers stop selling it. The clients affirm it’s the fat content and heaviness that don’t go well with hot weather. However they keep on eating greasy sausages and heavy pâtés… In fact, their black pudding refusal comes from the ancient restrictions dating back to the time when fridge, freezer and dried blood were unheard of and when black pudding could be made and sold only in pigs’ slaughter periods.

Those who, like me, are in the minority, have to enjoy it fresh until the end of April and sometimes May, then freezing is the only way to survive until September. For me the best black pudding is with hot spices, but it very very difficult to find, hot spices usually hiding a lower product quality… I buy the standard, but good one instead, and spice it up. The most frequent way I have it cannot really be called a recipe, but rather an idea. It consists of grilling toasts with black pudding slices, glazed with gochujang, Korean hot pepper paste, with highly addictive umami taste.(Click here to find a more than complete gochujang guide on One Fork, One Spoon blog). They can make a good lunch, if served with a green salad, but they are most of all good and nourishing snacks. They make excellent and original canapés and, while I’m thinking, why not a British inspired breakfast?

Before the recipe, a quick reminder of how my gochujang box looks like:

Preparation: 15 minutes

Ingredients (10 toasts):

10 x 4-5 cm diameter good bread toasts (sliced crunchy baguette is the best)

10 x 1 cm thick black pudding slices (skin removed)

a couple of tablespoons gochujang

Preheat the oven upper grill.

Place the black pudding on the bread slices.

Spread approximately 1/2 teaspoon of gochujang on top of each canapé.

Put under the grill and grill them until the black pudding starts sizzling and gochujang caramelising a bit (don’t let the gochujang change the colour: it means it has burnt!).

Serve either as finger food, snack or as a lunch, with a green salad.

Secondary Dashi (Niban Dashi 二番出汁)

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As a continuation of the Primary Dashi recipe I posted last week this post will be a very short one. As a quick reminder, dashi (出し) is the most popular Japanese stock made with konbu seaweed (昆布) and dried bonito fish flakes (although there are some other types of Japanese stock…).

After the primary dashi’s preparation, more delicate and lighter in coulour (see the recipe here), the konbu and the bonito flakes (katsuobushi かつおぶし) should not be thrown away. In fact they will be used to make a secondary dashi (niban dashi 二番出汁), a bit stronger and slightly darker, perfect for nourishing soups’ base or for soups with strong tasting vegetables. The recipe is also taken from “Japanese Cooking. A Simple Art” by Shizuo Tsuji.

Preparation: <25 minutes

Ingredients:

konbu and bonito flakes leftover from the Primary Dashi

750 ml cold water

5-7 g fresh bonito flakes

Place the leftover konbu and bonito flakes in 750 ml cold water. Put it over high heat and when it starts boiling, reduce the heat and let it simmer until it is reduced by 1/3 or 1/2 (the latter will have a stronger taste).

Add the fresh bonito flakes and immediately put aside.

Wait 30 seconds – 1 minute until the flakes fall to the bottom.

Remove the foam from the surface and strain through a piece of gauze.

This time the konbu and the bonito flakes can be thrown away.

Primary Dashi, or Japanese Stock (Ichiban Dashi, 一番出し)

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Dashi (出し) is the Japanese word meaning more or less “stock”. However dashi cannot be compared to the Western countries’ stock’s concept. Dashi is THE cornerstone of the Japanese cuisine. Without dashi cooking Japanese is not possible, “it is merely à la japonaise”, says Shizuo Tsuji. In his extraordinary “Japanese Cooking. A Simple Art“ the author very justly explains that using the instant dashi is understandable, but it is very important to understand how the traditonal dashi is made and how it tastes when prepared according to the state-of-the art rules. Thanks to Shizuko Tsuji I learnt the dashi recipe I had been preparing for years (as in the Simplified Miso Soup, using only katsuobushi, or shaved bonito fish flakes) was a shortcut used by many home and restaurant cooks. This popular method skips the first of the two stages, the one where konbu 昆布 seaweed plays the crucial role.

Konbu/Kombu 昆布 kelp, also called giant kelp (Saccharina/Laminaria japonica in Latin), is a kind of seaweed found at Japanese and Asian grocer’s and in health food shops. It is used in the stock preparation, the sushi rice preparation, in side dishes, cooked as a vegetable… The one used in stock is sold in dry, thick, almost black strips, it is also commonly consumed in Korea (다시마) and is quite popular in other East Asian countries. The earliest known written mention of the use of konbu in Japan dates back to the VIIIth century and gives an idea on how important konbu is in the Japanese cuisine. Click here to see different types of konbu. These are hidaka-konbu strips (also called mitsuishi-kombu) I used in my last dashi:

Following the steps in Shizuo Tsuji’s book, I prepared the Primary Dashi (Ichiban Dashi, 一番出し) and realised the stage I had been missing for years is very short, very easy, but makes a huge difference in flavour and aroma. In fact, one can wonder how a piece of wrinkled seaweed and dried fish flakes can create something so extraordinary… Closing my eyes, inhaling the cooled dashi I found myself in my childhood years smelling the freshly caught, river fish… I closed my eyes once more and remembered the first time in my life I saw and smelled the fresh mediterranean sea breeze…

The explanations are long and detailed, but the process is very simple. Both ingredients used in primary dashi can be reused to make another stock! Click here to read the secondary dashi (niban dashi) recipe.

Preparation: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients (for 1/2 litre dashi):

1/2 litre cold water

15 g konbu strip(s)

15g dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi かつおぶし)

Put the konbu into the cold water in a pan (don’t wash it!). Hat uncovered for about 10 minutes and when it is just before the boiling point, remove the konbu.
If inserting your thumbnail into the konbu you feel the flesh is soft, it means the water has the sufficient flavour.

If it still remains tough, out back for 1-2 minutes into the water adding some more (2 tablespoons) cold water to stop it from boiling.

Remove the konbu.

Bring the stock to a boil.

Add 2 more tablespoons cold water and add immediately the bonito flakes.

Bring once more to a boil and quickly put aside.

Wait for the flakes to fall down to the bottom of the pan (it will take at most 1 minute).

Remove the foam and filter the stock through a sieve line with a piece of gauze.

Reserve both the konbu and the dried bonito flakes for the secondary dashi.

Fresh Cheese Spread with Chives

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Even though the Spring is indeniably there, I still have to wait a bit for the local asparagus and try out Clarkie’s Asparagus and Parmesan Tart I have seen on Beloved Green. Meanwhile I have been watching, impressed, the jungle of Winter-surviving chives, growing like crazy on my balcony and serving as a joyful, green touch of Spring in my kitchen. Even though there are thousands of ways to use chives, my all-time favourite is the fresh cheese spread, a reminder of my childhood and probably the most innocuous of all my food addictions. Here is only a part of my chives jungle (including, on left, nira 韮, Chinese chives, very kindly offered by my friend A. and also courageous – albeit moderate – Winter survivors):

The fresh cheese I have in mind is called “curd cheese” and sometimes “farm” or “farmers cheese”, available in Polish/Russian/ Hungarian grocery shops all around the world. Curd cheese is widely used in Central and Eastern Europe (Russian творог, Polish twaróg or biały ser, Hungarian túró or Austrian Topfen are only some examples in both savoury and sweet dishes and is my absolute favourite in Baked Cheesecake (while its smooth, mixed version is ideal in Unbaked Cheesecake). Its texture might be described as something halfway between ricotta and feta, but its slightly tangy taste differs from both. Since it is produced by straining soured milk, curd cheese is a natural product and if low or medium-fat variety is used, it makes relatively healthy meals and desserts. (It shouldn’t be mixed up with American “cheese curds”!). This is how curd cheese, crushed with fork, looks like:

This spread is not only fresh, low-fat, quick and known as an appetite suppressant, but it tastes much better on wholemeal, black, crunchy bread or even pumpernickel, which makes it even healthier (on the other, hand I have read somewhere fresh cheese is no longer considered as healthy as in the past…). Fresh cheese spread keeps for a couple of days in the fridge, in a closed container. Actually, I think it tastes better the following day, when the chives’ flavour is stronger. I always make a big batch to have it ready for breakfast or as a snack.

TIP: If you cannot get curd/farmers cheese, you can replace it with cottage cheese, but it has to be drained and combined with sour cream/milk or kefir (not yogurt) to make it tangy.

Other recipes which call for curd cheese:

-Potato and Curd Cheese Dumplings

-Pear and Curd/Cottage Cheese Pie

-Light and Moist Baked Cheesecake

Preparation: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

150 g curd/farmers cheese (or drained cottage cheese)

4-6 tablespoons yogurt, kefir, sour milk or sour cream (or more if the cheese is dry)

salt

about 10 flat tablespoons chopped chives

If using cottage cheese, crush the grains with a fork before adding kefir or sour milk/cream.

Add the chives, the salt, give it a good stir and taste if it’s salty enough.

Pear and Fresh Cheese Tart

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Even though the ingredients are not unusual, nor exotic and their combination is not really surprising, this tart’s flavour is extraordinarily different. Sweet pears and slightly tart, grainy, fresh curd cheese filling create a unique combination. Since I hardly add any sugar and the pastry case doesn’t have it either, the tart is not overly sweet and be can easily served as a snack, for afternoon tea or for breakfast. I have been preparing it for so many years, unfortunately I can’t even remember the source of my recipe… I can only say it’s not a typically French fruit tart, since they are usually thinner, have less filling and curd cheese is definitely not a very French ingredient.

I know the unique taste and texture of this tart is largely due to the curd cheese, not available everywhere (in the countries where it is not widely used, Russian and Polish grocers sell it). Luckily, the curd cheese can be substituted with the almost universal cottage cheese. If you have to use the cottage cheese, drain it well, squash the big grains with a fork and add 100 ml sour cream or kefir (to add the slight tartness the curd cheese has). If using very dry curd cheese (such as the Hungarian one), add 200 ml liquid cream. The good news is this pie can be done with leftover yolks instead of whole eggs!

Preparation: 1 hour

Ingredients (for a standard 28 cm diameter pie dish):

1 puff pastry sheet (around 230 g)

500g curd cheese (or well drained cottage cheese, squashed with a fork and combined with 100 ml sour cream or kefir or “quark”, i.e. mixed, smooth fresh cheese)

4 tablespoons sugar

4 eggs or 5 yolks, or a combination of both

5 big or 7 smaller pears (not too ripe, they should stay firm after the baking stage)

2 tablespoons cinnamon or a mixture of cinnamon and ground clove

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Line a greased tart dish with the puff pastry and prick its bottom with a fork.

Cover the pastry case with a sheet of baking paper, cover with dry beans (to stop the pastry from raising) and blind – bake it (before it browns). Remove the baking paper and the beans and put the pastry case aside.

Peel the pears and discard the cores. Cut them into 8 pieces and put into a bowl of cold water mixed with some lemon juice (otherwise they might darken very quickly).

Combine the cheese with the eggs and the sugar.

Pour it over the baked pastry case.

Arrange the pear pieces on the top of the cheese mixture, the rounded part up.

Sprinkle with the cinnamon.

Bake in the oven until the tart’s top is slightly golden.

This tart should definitely be served warm. (If preparing in advance simply reheat it in the oven or a microwave before serving).

Grilled Toast with Canned Tuna

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Canned tuna is probably the most versatile canned fish I can imagine. Contrary to sardines or anchovies, it is equally good in both hot and cold dishes. To all those crying I shamelessly promote an overfished species, I have two words: Katsuwonus pelamis. This latin name refers to skipjack tuna, also called striped tuna or arctic bonito, the one usually canned and apparently not endangered. Those who have ever had a chance to taste it grilled know it is definitely not the highly praised, red, succulent tun. Striped tuna is dried in Japan, and then becomes katsuobushi, “shaved” and used to prepare the Japanese broth, or dashi (read more here).

Grilled toasts with toppings (or grilled open sandwiches) are my staples whenever I need a hot, but quick meal. They are the only reason I keep the vilified toast bread, ideal for this preparation. Since this kind of bread keeps quite long, and given into consideration the cans’ shelf life, I always have the ingredients necessary to prepare a toast with tuna. (I do not mention the gruyère you see melted above, since living in Switzerland I couldn’t possibly not have it in my fridge!). The remaining items can be freely substituted or omitted.

This grilled toast can be served for any course. With a green salad it makes a complete and light lunch or dinner (of course unless you put tons of cheese on top).

Preparation: 10 – 15 minutes

Ingredients (serves two):

1 can tuna (in water is the one I prefer)

2-3 slices toast bread

a couple of tablespoons capers or chopped olives

a couple of tablespoons mayonnaise, cream cheese, yogurt or sour cream

salt, pepper

50-70 g or more gruyère (or any other melting cheese you have, even mozzarella will do; personally I find gruyère the best here)

(gochujang, tabasco or chili powder)

Preheat the upper grill in the oven.

Drain the tuna. Put it in a bowl and squash it with a fork, add the capers (or the olives), the mayonnaise, salt, pepper, gochujang and mix well with a fork.

Cut the toast bread into halves (I like the triangles’ cut) or into four pieces if you prefer.

Spread the tuna mixture (a 1 cm or thicker layer) over the bread and arrange the sandwiches on a baking tray or a piece of aluminium foil.

Grate the cheese over the sandwiches or cut it into thin slices and put it over them.

Put the sandwiches under the oven grill and grill them until the cheese melts and the bread crust becomes golden.

Serve with ketchup or hot sauces (plum sauce goes well) and with a green salad.

Cold Turkey Cuts

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Am I the only one to make my own cold meat cuts? I am not talking here about using up the leftover roast meat, but seasoning, roasting the meat and deliberately cooling it down, bearing in mind it is to be eaten cold in the sandwiches or salads. I have lately realised this is not as common a practice as I had thought and, when mentioned, it is often regarded as something as complicated and crazy like making your own sausage or black pudding.

Meanwhile, homemade cold cuts are incredibly easy. The cold roast can be a bit dry, a bit burnt (as above), with too many spices… In the end, once the meat is sliced and put into a sandwich or a salad, these imperfections are not important, especially when compared to what one can get as ready-made supermarket cold cuts… Being busy is a false problem, since only one hour and a half per week of sitting on a couch, checking the oven maybe three times, is required to obtain delicious meat cuts for at least seven following days. Saturday or Sunday is probably the best moment for those working hard and late on weekdays. Apart from the obvious quality and taste advantages (unless one lives close to a very good butcher, in certain countries an almost extinct profession), homemade roast pork or turkey is ridiculously cheap.

The below kind and amount of spices should be treated only as an example. The only important thing is to rub the salt into the meat first, before adding the remaining spices. The following recipe is my yesterday’s preparation and one of the laziest roast recipes I can present.

Preparation: 1 hour 30 min

Ingredients:

a whole small turkey breast weighing 1 kg (or a cut off part of the turkey breast)

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons dried granulated garlic (this is the laziest option of course; using fresh garlic is a bit more fussy – it should be peeled, cut into small pieces and placed into small incisions in the meat, otherwise it burns)

3 tablespoons Indian curry

1 tablespoon ground chili

2 tablespoons oil

Take the breast out of the fridge. Wash it, pat dry and with your hands rub the salt into all of the sides.

Afterwards rub all the spices into the meat.

Put the meat aside, covered for about twenty minutes (you can leave it marinating in the spices for several hours or overnight, but in this case it should be put back into the fridge and taken out 30 minutes before roasting).

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan.

Sear the meat for 30 seconds – 1 minute on every side until it browns slightly (turning a bit piece of meat and maintaining it with your hands is easier than with any other utensil).

Put it on a baking dish and leave in the oven for 40-50 minutes.

If you see the surface gets burnt, you can cover the roast with aluminium foil for the remaining baking time (as you can see on the above photo mine burnt quite a lot, but, once again, this is not something I usually mind in my cold meat…).

Take it out of the oven, let it cool down.

Kept in the fridge for one week this roast will be delicious in sandwiches, salads or as a quick fresh meat substitute in soups, savoury tarts or any pasta dish.

It can also be frozen.

Grilled Tofu with Sesame Seeds

Fat Liver Terrine with Port, or Foie gras au porto

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Foie gras, or fat liver, was my love at first bite. Only later did I realise the foie gras I tasted for the first time in my life was a particularly excellent one, brought by a French friend’s mother living in Perigord, the most renown French fat liver producing region. I quickly realised I wouldn’t taste such a good fat liver very often (or never!), since this delicacy doesn’t accept lower quality or careless preparation compromise. It can be prepared in many ways, the most famous two being very simple, quickly fried “steaks” and, more elaborate and complex “terrine”, cooked in the oven, in hot water bath, and served cold. The cooked fat liver takes several days to develop its aroma and taste, so if one wants to follow the French trend and serve it for Christmas, today is the best day to start preparing it.

Fat liver production dates as far back as Ancient Rome, when birds were force-fed figs, and the method was so widely practised that the latin “ficum” is a root word for French “foie” or Italian “fegato”. Nowadays, France is by far the biggest fat liver consumer and producer in the world. Many people don’t know that Hungary is another European country largely consuming and producing fat liver, but mostly goose liver, while in France duck liver dominates.

Most people don’t dare preparing fat liver at home. I was also afraid of doing it, but after my first attempt I understood that obtaining excellent results (especially from the visual point of view) was difficult, but preparing a good terrine wasn’t that hard. Even my first clumsy overcooked terrine was actually much better than any other I have ever bought in a shop. In fact, even though my terrines look always messy in comparison to those served in restaurants, the taste is sometimes even better!

Apart from the waiting time, the most difficult part in the preparation is deveining. The liver has bigger and smaller veins, and more of those are removed, the better. The trick is to find the right compromise between removing as many veins as possible and not tearing the liver apart in hundred pieces.

Fat liver terrine recipes are galore and mine is loosely based on the mixed sources, such as my family advice, internet tips and cookery books recipes. Different alcohols can be used and mixed (armagnac, cognac…) to marinate the liver, but I often make it with cheap tawny port and it’s really good too. I have never cooked goose liver, so I don’t know if goose liver should be prepared in a different way.

Foie gras is usually served as a starter, with toast on individual plates in slices (which should never ever be squashed and spread on the bread like a vulgar supermarket pâté!), but it also makes wonderful finger food when served on small toasts. Good quality – flaked or big grained – salt sprinkled over a piece of the terrine or a toast is the ultimate touch. Every meal and every time of the day is perfect for foie gars. A late Sunday breakfast is one of my favourite moments to enjoy it…

Special equipment:

good tweezers (the best would be the special ones for fish bones removal, but good eyebrow tweezers should do)

a “terrine” dish (with a cover)

a cooking thermometer (this is not obligatory, but makes the cooking time control much easier)

Preparation: 2,5 hours + 24 hours in the fridge + 30-40 minutes cooking+minimum 48 hours in the fridge before serving

Ingredients:

1 duck liver

10 tablespoons port or another aromatic alcohol of your choice

1/2 litre water

1/2 litre milk

salt, pepper

Take the liver out of the fridge.

Let it warm up to the room temperature.

Divide the two lobes and carefully take out first of all the main veins and as many small ones as you manage.

Put it into tepid mixture of water and milk for 2 hours.

Take it out, pat dry. Put the first part of the liver in the terrine dish.

Season with salt, pepper and half of the alcohol.

Put the second part, season, add the rest of the alcohol and slightly press.

Cover the dish and leave in the fridge for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven at 130°C.

Put some hot water (60°C) in a big shallow dish, put the dish with the liver inside, so that the water covers 3/4 of the dish height.

Cook in the oven for around 40 minutes, checking the central temperature of the liver.

It shouldn’t have more than 50-65°C inside.

Take it out and let it cool.

Discard most of the fat formed at the top of the terrine.

Press it slightly (or press with something heavy, such as a wooden board).

Put into the fridge for at least 48 hours.

Serve it either in individual slices with bread/toast aside or on small toast (dipping the knife in hot water makes the cutting easier).

It tastes particularly well with fruit chutneys.

Traditionally sweetish sauternes wines are advised with fat liver, but apart from the very old toned down sauternes, I drink it only with red or white fruity, dry wines.

Miso Soup (misoshiru 味噌汁) with Tofu (Simplified)

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The Japanese Miso Soup (misoshiru 味噌汁) is my favourite… breakfast. It has all the possible breakfast advantages (although it can be served at any meal!). A perfect morning meal for cold days and, in my case, hangover days too! It is also one of my comforting dishes. To sum up, miso soup is quick, low-fat, low-calorie, nourishing, very healthy, versatile… but first of all deliciously addictive.

To make a quick and simplified miso soup you need only three ingredients: miso (fermented soybean) paste, dried fish (bonito) flakes and dried wakame seaweed, all sold in Japanese groceries and all keeping for ages! This time I used a very light mild-tasting miso paste, but any other miso type can be used. Dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi, necessary to make a simplified stock, or dashi (出し), the first step in the preparation of a miso soup) are sold in big bags and keep in an airtight container for years. (See here how to make also quite quickly a REAL primary dashi, not a simplified shortcut). As for wakame seaweed, it can be bought in whole strips or already cut into tiny pieces which, in contact with water will expand into bite-sized pieces.

The rest of the ingredients depend only on your imagination and preference (hard-boiled egg, cooked vegetables, potatoes, shrimps, cooked leftover meat… anything can be added), but miso soup with tofu is a kind of basic version.

If you still have some instant miso soup or dashi stock bags, throw them away (I did after I had made my first miso from the scratch)! Dashi can sometimes be useful as a base for simmered dishes and sauces, but the instant miso soup is not even half as good as the soup made from the scratch, the whole process taking only 10 minutes! There is no excuse for the shortcuts of the shortcut (the stock version I describe here is already a simplified one).

I have been making this recipe for ages and took it (maybe with slight modifications) from Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking by Harumi Hurikara. Easy and clearly explained recipes with Harumi’s very warm and personal comments and hints are a perfect introduction to the basic Japanese home cooking.

Preparation: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients (serves 1):

250 ml water

1 tablespoon dried bonito flakes

1 teaspoon cut and dried seaweed (or a 5 cm whole dried wakame seaweed piece)

1 tablespoon miso paste (or more, it depends on the saltiness of the miso)

100 g silken (soft) tofu

Put the seaweed in a glass of cold water to let it expand and soften. (It still amazes me how quickly the tiny teaspoon is transformed into half a glass of beautiful green leaves!)

In the meantime pour the water and dried bonito flakes into a small pan. Bring to a boil and let it boil two minutes.

Put aside. The fish flakes will go into the bottom very quickly, and then you can strain the liquid.

Throw the flakes away or boil them once more with another batch of water to obtain a milder dashi stock for the following day. (It should be stored in the fridge).

Pour back the stock into the pan (without the bonito flakes of course!). Add the miso paste and the drained seaweed (cut into bite-sized pieces if you are using a whole piece). Warm the soup for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it’s hot, but don’t let it boil! Cut the tofu into square pieces and put into the pan for 30 seconds.

Serve in a bowl.