VINOTINTO – Valencia

We had a very short stay in Valencia but were determined to get some good food. We found Vino Tinto by passing by, at 3pm (yes in Valencia lunch is between 2 and 4 pm) it was packed even on a tuesday. The restaurant has very high ceilings with and a wonderful old wooden floor….

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Oriental meatballs with Eggplants and tomatoes

This are 2 dishes I wanted to try since a long time, but I got a hard time finding Sumac. Sumac is a turkish spice which has a tangy lemony taste. Oriental Meatballs Ingredients: 400 gr of ground lamb and beef (in my case I used 300 of Lamb and 100 of beef). salt 2…

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Zaru Soba and Hiyayakko

  This is a special request from a friend of mine. This is for me a perfect combination to prepare a quick, healthy and tasty dinner. Hiyayakko – Cold Tofu Ingredients for 2: 1 pack of firm tofu Some Ponzu sauce (it’s a citrus sauce based on Yuzu) Katsuo Boshi (the bonito flakes) some spring…

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Cucumber pickles – goma shio kyuri

This is a very quick and easy way to prepare pickles with cucumber. First time we tried it was in an isakaya in Omiya, Saitama province. Ingredients: 1 package of snack cucumbers (roughly 250 gr) 2 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tbsp sesame oil 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 ziplock bag   Cut the cucumbers in quarters…

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Maccheroni with Kale and Merguez

In the tuscan tradition, Kale has always been used a lot. It’s called cavolo nero and it is mostly paired with Salsiccia (sausage) and pasta. This is my revisitation of a classic but using merguez instead of salsiccia. Merguez are very nice north african sausages with lamb and beef meat, well seasoned and a touch…

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Dashi – more than a broth

When I started to cook my first japanese recipes, I quickly realized that you need 4 basic ingredients for most of the recipes. Dashi Mirin Sake Soy Sauce If you have those 4 in your pantry you are ready to cook japanese. Let’s talk about Dashi. Dashi is a broth made using a Kombu Kelp…

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Duck Breast with Ponzu

This is a pretty easy dish that tastes really good. Ingredients: 1 duck breast Leek Ponzu Sauce (I buy the ready made as we have no choice to get fresh yuzu here) Salt and Pepper a little bit of oil. Preheat the oven to 190°C with air circulation (200°C for the traditional). Pierce the duck…

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Shichimi Togarashi – Japanese Medicine

Shichimi Togarashi means actually seven peppers. It is a mix of 7 different spices that was created more than 400 years ago as a Medicine. Yes, you are reading right. Its content of Red Chili (called Ichimi Togarashi) supports a good blood circulation, alleviates muscle pain and supports digestion and weight loss. Ground Sansho (japanese…

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Deep-Fried Eggplants in Dashi Marinade

And another Isakaya dish ;-). Ingredients: 2 small eggplants some shishito peppers (they are called pimientos del padron in Europe and typical in Spain) Oil for frying (Sunflower oil) 4 tbsp. soy sauce 4 tbsp. mirin bonito flakes (a handful) 1 small piece of Kombu Kelp 240 ml water 1 tsp. of chili flakes  …

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Pak Choi in Dashi and soy sauce

Last summer I planted some Pak Choi in my raised beds and guess what, it’s still growing now over the winter (ok, it’s a very warm winter…). So I am always looking for new ways to prepare it and this is a delicious one. Ingredients: 500 gr Pak Choi Salt 3 tbsp dashi stock (even…

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