Mini pumpkin patch and crunchy kabocha salad

I have a little collection of mini-pumpkin. So I made a kabocha sarada, a pumpkin salad. That’s a healthier alternative to potato salad.
It’s the ideal way to get a refill of vitamins in the darker season.

First, this is my basket :

4 minis. There don’t all have names. Well all pumpkins are called kabocha in Japanese.

A baby butternut.

The smallest is called a botchan kabocha. Botchan, it’s the last youngest son of a family, the spoiled brat.

If you want ideas to use pumpkins, browse :
my pinterest selection
and
Dissection of a Summer kabocha, no waste
and
Cinderella gourmande, recipes of golden carriage
and
kabocha keyword

So take any sweet pumpkin, steam it and take the flesh. Add the white part of negi leeks, a small onion thinly sliced, a little fresh ginger thinly minced. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

Add the juice and grated zest of 2 sudachi limes.

Renkon, lotus root. I buy them already peeled, sliced, cleaned and blanched, but you can do it yourself

Small cucumbers, cut in sticks. Add the cucumber and lotus into the kabocha mix. You may need to add water. Cover and let a few hours in the fridge.

The next day, flavors have mixed harmoniously.

I eat it over 2 or 3 days as a side dish, or as an item to fill a lunch box.

Fish, pumpkin and cornichon soup

A colorful fish soup that makes a whole meal. Freely inspired by Slavic gherkin soups. It’s quick and easy.

Suguna kabocha pumpkin. I boiled the pieces in water till soft.

The head of tai (sea bream). Fish head is cheap, flavorful and there is plenty to eat. It’s ideal for a soup.

Cornichons à l’estragon.
Gherkins with tarragon. I made when ? Last May :

cornichons

I thinly sliced them.

Put the fish in the pot, add half of the gherkins, the kabocha and cooking broth. Simmer 20 minutes.

Near the end, take out 1/2 cup of broth, add cream, salt, pepper, fresh thyme, the rest of pickles. On the table, mix into the soup, put back the lid and wait a few minutes.

Serve with croutons.

Open and enjoy while it’s hot.

Spahis ? Kaki sfeeha.

Japanese-Lebanese-Gourmande fusion : Lebanese sfiha (sfeeha, small meat pies) with Japanese kaki, and coconut tzatziki.

Cut thinly lamb meat, season with salt. Cut a little kaki persimmon. Cut onion and kabocha pumpkin in small cubes, garlic thinly, stir-fry with lamb fat. Season with a little salt, cumin, cinnamon, nutgmeg, black pepper. Add the meat and fruit to the onions. Shred a few leaves of mint and some fresh thyme, add them.

Dough : flour, cumin seeds, a little baking powder, a drizzle of olive oil. Mix. Add just enough hot water to form a ball.

Take a ball of dough, spread in a circle, put filling in the middle and pinch the squares to form a basket.

Paint with olive oil and bake.

Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, chili flakes and mint leaves. Serve hot.

Tzatziki : cucumbers and a little goya (bitter squash), the sauce is made with coconut cream, garlic, mint and thyme.

The perfect pair.

Curried chick pea dosa, with coconut gravy

An Indian brunch maybe not so Indian… Well, dosa is the pancake from India, but this recipe has traveled via Canada, it seems.

This month is a retro challenge, as we had to pick an older one we had not done yet, so mt choice was September 2009’s Indian Dosas (Vegan Style) :
Recipe here.

The 3 elements : curried chick peas and veggies, dosa crepes and the coconut sauce.

The curried chick peas with shishito peppers and kabocha pumpkin.

The coconut gravy with a shishito pepper and a little bit of habanero pepper.

I made the dosas with plain flour. Well, that’s easier and quicker, I prefer rice and lentil dosas :

red dosa
green dosa

Side veggies : goya bitter squash and cucumbers.

So let’s fill the crepes…

… pour the sauce and sprinkle coconut snow.

Fresh green open sandwich

A fresh plant-based tea sandwich. I’m liking more and more vegetable sandwiches. Like these :

carrot sands

It’s a cuke sand’ today… Kyuri, Japanese cucumbers have a thin skin, and thin seeds. Everything is edible.

A thin slice of shokupan (Japanese bread) with the crust cut out. Coconut cream and grainy mustard spread on it. A handful of cress. Sliced cucumbers.