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 :

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.

Greens for the heat

We are having a dry or a late rainy season. It’s getting hot. We have to get used to it. Adapting the menu is very important.

This natto is from a village called Tamba, famous for its soy bean. It’s a little more hand-made than the ordinary one.

I’ve added negi leeks, nira garlic chives and green sansho peppercorns that are now in season, with dashi broth and a little soy sauce, mixed and let a few hours.

Very large long beans. I’ve just cut them in 2 and blanched.

Blanched ninniku no me (garlic stalks) and boiled tokk (Korean mochi rice cakes)

The beans, stalks and tokk reheated in tomato sauce with lots of cut fresh oregano.

To add a little sourness : tarragon pickles (made here).

Yuzu tabouleh and nira falafels

Chunky texture falafels, with a creamy tahini sauce. The local twist is the addition of nira (garlic chives).

Citrus flavored tabouleh. What is special is I’ve used yuzu, the Japanese citrus and different herb. That was really delicious.

Overnight soaked chickpeas pasted with some bigger chunks, littles bits of onion and chopped nira (garlic chives), salt, pepper. I thickened them with oatmeal. Pan-fried.

Home-made tahini in the blender. I’ve added salt and lemon juice to make it a creamy dip. Harissa on the side.

I slightly precooked the bulgur in water (when I have more time, I soak it one night in plenty of water instead), then added everything to the drained grain. I let flavor mix overnight.

A side of cucumber kimchi.

Pickling cukes : kimchi + cornichons à l’estragon

Two ways of quickly pickling small cucumbers.

I really had a big bag that I was not going to eat before they go bad. I don’t need pickles for Winter, just some that prolongates the cukes for a week.

Lazy kimchi : breaking the cucumbers in dices and mixing with kimchi from the store. Mix and close. The lacto-fermentation of kimchi will extend to the added vegetables.
They will be ready in one or two days.

Note : kimchi is nor vegetarian usually, but some versions without animal products can be made.