Lackered

Little fun party today : Peking duck.
Am I fooling you ? I wish it was it, but well…
Correction :
Pekinfied duck skins
But that did it for me. That was delicious.

And that’s really recycling, rock bottom level budget cooking. I kept skins in the freezer when I used duck breasts in other recipes.

Made them sweat their fat with star anise to flavor. Discarded fat.

Added soy sauce, spices and sugar. Discarded the fat.

Dried excess fat with kitchen towel. Grilled them on slow heat in oven-toaster.

Lackered skins.

Sauce made with dochi, banana, chili pepper, oil.
I served with negi leaks, cucumbers and some fresh steamed crepes.

Take a crepe, fill, roll… Verdict : hao chi le !

Velouté of kabocha with green togarashi chili

Velouté de kabocha au piment vert et au sésame.
Green velvet squash soup. It’s served chilled.
The texture is incredibly smooth and silky, and the flavor incredibly green and soft. The kabocha + green togarashi pair is a keeper.

Sides are this veggie plate.

And a crispy moffle (mochi waffle) with paprika.

I had boiled skins of kabocha and some orange flesh left on them. I mixed them in the mixer with a fresh green togarashi chili seeded and some sesame I had just toasted as a creamer. A little salt and turmeric as spices. I didn’t cook it but served it cool.

Dissection of a Summer kabocha, no waste

Kabocha, the sweet Japanese pumpkin are ripe in this season. There are several types. This one is the very common Nankin. So buy one, and have fun.

Everything is edible : flesh, rind and seeds.

It can be sliced and cooked very simply.

with soba (poached)
roast (chick sand)

Purée is very easy to make, just steam and mash with a fork. It’s very versatile :

New dishes 2012-13 :

spicy savory pumpkin tart

pumpkin potato samosa

raw pumpkin pie

pumpkin bread and waffle

kabocha pizza

kabocha biryani

Holiday spicy kabocha potage

Summer kabocha stir-fry, Indian style

kabocha chilled creamy soup

kabocha egg rolls

kabocha salad
millas (cake)
chana dal chilled soup
kabocha yokan (Japanese sweet)

The grated raw flesh of the fresh Summer Nankin kabocha is excellent too.

August veg’
color slaw
shred veggies

Often, you have cooked skin unused because it would have messed the orange color of the dish. It is excellent, use it.

miso soup
salad with fried tofu
mabo tofu

One kabocha is filled with a good cup of seeds. Take them, rinse and grill in the oven-toaster or in a skillet.

grilled
opened with the teeth
the green seed, to enjoy with a little salt

Do you need more ideas to cook a pumpkin :
Compil’ for Cinderella

Tutti veggy hemp milk quiche-pastilla, an easy recipe

That’s very simple. That takes 3 minutes to prepare.

And you get this nutty quiche style dairy free tarte. Pastilla ? Because the crust is made by piling oiled “brik” wheat sheets, like for the pastilla pie.

It’s delicious hot or cold. Ideal for this season.