Tokyo Desserts

Recipe:

375 grams bread flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon pepper

5 grams sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast

100 grams mashed potatoes (cooked mashed potatoes)

30 grams butter (room temperature)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

200 grams water

1 egg mixed for egg wash

1. Using a stand mixer, mix the flour, salt, pepper, yeast, sugar, rosemary & water in the stand mixer until the mixture is well incorporated. Add the mashed potatoes and continue to mix. Lastly, add the butter and mix until it is becomes smooth.
2. Put on a flat surface and finish kneading until the dough is soft and supple. 
3. Oil the bottom & sides of a bowl and put the dough inside. Cover with wrap. Let sit in a warm place for about 1 hour or until bread doubles in size.
4. Remove dough from bowl. Cut dough into 2 equal pieces and roll into 2 balls. Place each piece side-by-side in a buttered bread pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 1 hour in a warm place. Decorate with several pieces of rosemary and lightly brush with egg wash before baking.
5. Preheat the oven and bake at 200 C. for about 45- 50 minutes. After baking, let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool completely before slicing.

Dinner is ready! We can't always eat dessert so for a quick dinner I have replaced the traditional meat sauce for these tacos with fish.

Delicious soup for a summer Sunday lunch

This soup really is super easy and quick to make, and I'm not exaggerating. The fresh vegetables are a delicious match. Before serving be sure to chill for an hour or two and it is really the right accompaniment for a summer sandwich.

Recipe

1/2 cup (125 mL) cold water
Juice of 1 lime
1 ripe avocado
1 cucumber, roughly chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/4 cup (80 mL) fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp  salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 cup (125 mL) low-fat sour cream (for garnish)
Zest of 1 lime (for garnish)



Serves 4

Lunch is ready!

Layers of potato, ham & spinach add a great flavor

If you are tired of traditional quiches and looking for a new twist try this recipe. This quiche has layers of potato, spinach and ham. Also, the traditional milk has been replaced with a Béchamel sauce which gives it a nice deep flavor.

If you serve this quiche with just a soup and salad, you would still have a hearty dinner. Also, this is great to make ahead of time and just pop in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.

I have skipped cheese in this recipe to save on calories but feel free to add it back.

This is a recipe that allows for personalization -- substitute the spinach with asparagus or eggplant, etc.

Here you go for the recipe:

Crust:
200 grams sifted flour
85 grams butter cut into cubes (cold)
1 egg
pinch of salt and sugar

1. If you use a food processor, add the flour to the processor bowl with the cold butter and sugar and salt and quickly blend. Add in the egg and blend again.
2. Remove from the bowl and lightly knead together to mix well and then cover with plastic wrap. Put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before rolling out.

Filling:
3 potatoes
4 eggs
1/2 package fresh spinach
150 grams ham or bacon
1 onion
35 grams flour
300 cc milk

1. Peel and slice the potatoes. Boil until just soft. Drain.
2. Wash the spinach and remove the stems.
3. Fry the ham (or bacon) until just browned. Drain on a paper towel.
4. Slice the onion and fry in a pan with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil until soft. Add the flour and mix with a spoon - slowly add in the milk and mix until the mixture starts to thicken. Turn off the heat.
5. Mix the eggs in a bowl and add #4 above in portions and mix with a small whisk.
6. Roll out the dough to fit a 20 cm tart pan. Fit the dough around the inside of the tart pan and cut off the extra.
7. Spread a little of the egg mixture to the bottom of the tart pan then layer with potatoes, ham, spinach. Add more of the egg mixture and another layer of the ingredients.
8. Pour the remaining egg mixture on top and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes.

Hearty dinner or lunch!

Red Pepper Mushroom  Risotto with fried chicken

We have a long 3 day weekend in Japan. Sept 17th is Respect for the Aged Day. How about a holiday for the tired & weary??

So what do I do on a long weekend - bake and cook. It is still hot in Tokyo but not as oppressive as August.  Finally getting my energy back.

Mushrooms are now in all of the supermarkets which is a reason for me to get back into the kitchen. Mushrooms are another of my favorite foods.

Don't be put off by risotto, it is really quite easy. Here is a simple lunch or dinner recipe. Enjoy!!


                      

Use mushrooms popular in your area

Recipe
400 grams rice
1 liter chicken bouillon
1 small onion (chopped)
1 red pepper
lots of mushrooms
50 grams white wine

  1. Slice mushrooms. Peel the red pepper to remove the skin and slice.

2. In a large pan, add olive oil to fry the onions until they become transparent. Add the mushrooms & red pepper and fry until they start to soften. Add the white wine.

3. Wash the rice and drain the water. Pour the rice into the pan with the vegetables and mix. As the water reduces, add chicken bouillon in portions. Add just enough each time to  cover the rice. Use a lid to cook faster.
 

Fry chopped onions, add mushrooms & red pepper then add rice & bouillon

Reduce or increase the ingredients depending how many people you need to serve.

 

Pasta served with white wine and homemade bread

In Atami there is a farmer & fisherman's market on Saturday evening. I look forward to this market since they usually sell these mini lobsters. I did a quick check on Wikipedia so take a look for the official name. This is a species unique to Japan.

Mini Lobsters from Japan

 I bought 3 of them -- small, medium and large. Since two were small, I was given a discount of two for one. Total cost was 1,000 yen (about $10 US dollars). Not a bad price!

How to start?  First, cut off the tail since these will be cooked separately later. The long antenna are dangerous so cut those off too.

Slice an onion and par boil several tomatoes to remove the skin. Put onions in the pan and generously sprinkle with olive oil and lightly fry. Add the tomatoes and cook together. Add garlic as you like also.

Now add the lobster bodies to the sauce so that the sauce picks up the rich flavor. Let this cook for 30 - 45 minutes so the flavors are well blended. You can add additional sauce depending on how many you need to feed. I added a can of tomatoes.

Everything goes into the pot!

You can start cooking the pasta at this time too.

After cooking for about 45 minutes, remove the lobster bodies. Put the sauce in a blender &  puree. Put a sieve over the pot as you pour it back in - this removes all of the rough ingredients. Add lobster bodies again and reduce sauce for about 20 minutes.

Be careful putting the sauce into a blender since it is HOT!!

Eggplants in Japan

 These type of eggplant are the most popular in Japan. It is difficult to find the large rounds ones.

Cut off the ends and slice the eggplant in pieces. Put in a pan with olive oil and fry until lightly browned.

To finish the pasta, put the lobster tails ino the sauce to cook. These cook quickly in about 10 minutes or less.

Remove the tails and lobster bodies from the sauce. Stir the sauce and remove anything left from the lobsters.

Remove the meat from the lobster tails.

Put the pasta in a bowl and pour sauce over it. Include eggplant pieces and the lobster tails. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Fry in olive until browned

Homemade pizza topped with onions, green peppers & black olives

Pizza in Japan is as popular as sushi. One catch is that you have to get used to the toppings such as squid, corn, or tuna. I think the most offensive topping is mayonnaise.

We can all thank Ernie Higa for introducing Domino's to Japan and making pizza history. Cheese wasn't popular in Japan but for some reason when combined with tomato sauce and a baked crust the whole combination took off and opened whole new junk food & business opportunities.

1. In a bowl, sift the flour, salt and sugar then add the cornmeal & yeast. Add the water. Mix with a bench scraper and spread on a flat surface.
2. Knead the bread for about 10 - 15 minutes until soft. Add a little more water if not soft enough. Roll into a ball and cover with a bowl on your kneading board for about 10 minutes. 
3. Uncover and knead in the butter. You can use the bench scraper to 'cut' the butter into the dough and then knead until well incorporated. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Cover again with a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes on the kneading board
4. Uncover and form into a nice ball and put in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 60 minutes.
5. Remove from the bowl and flatten to remove the air. Roll into a ball and cover with plastic on the kneading board - let sit for 20 minutes (bench time). After 20 minutes you can either roll out the dough or put into the refrigerator for later use.
6. Roll out the dough & spread on a pizza pan. Cover with tomato paste, mozzarella cheese, toppings such as sliced onions, peppers, black olives, etc. and finish with more cheese.
7. Bake at 190 degrees Celsius for about 45 minutes depending on the size of your pan. 

Spread the dough neatly in the pan

Onions, green peppers, black olives & cheese for topping

If you are looking for something different for sandwich filling, try this one.  The recipe can also help save on calories if you use light mayonnaise and boil or steam the chicken.

Instructions

1. Depending on how many you need to feed, use 3 - 4 chicken breasts and lightly fry or boil the meat.

2. After the meat is cooked, put in a food processor and lightly mix in mayonnaise, curry powder, mango chutney, salt & pepper. You will need to adjust the taste as you like it - especially for the curry powder & mango chutney.

3. Remove from the food processor and mix in  raisins. Not too many, just enough to add flavor. You can also add a few chopped walnuts to really dress up  this recipe.

For the bread, I made these rolls. If you are going to use the rolls for sandwiches, I wouldn't add dried fruits.

Lunch is on!

I found this brand in a local store - not sure what will be in your supermarket

A tasty addition to any dinner party

If you need to dress up a dinner party, here is your answer. 

The onions on top on this tart are slowly fried to bring out the sweetness in them. They top a tasty dough made with olive oil and then baked. The black olives added after baking give just the right amount of saltiness and tang to this tart.

Dough

1. Mix the egg yolk & water.
2. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together. Add the egg mixture to the flour. Mix with a spatula. Add the olive oil.
3. Mix the dough with your hands to mix well. Cover with wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes before using.
4. Thinly slice the onions and put in a large frying pan on medium heat with some olive oil for frying. Stir often while cooking. You can add a little bit of water if the onions become too dry. The onions should cook until lightly browned and very soft.
5. Roll out the dough on a floured board and place inside a tart ring. Cover the dough with cooking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake at 190 degrees Celsius for about 15 - 20 minutes. 
6. Remove the cooking paper and baking beans. Fill with the onion mixture. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes.
7. Slice some black olives and decorate the tart before serving.