Roasted Tomatoes & Avocado Salad with Framboise Dreesing

Sadly, lots of vegetables we buy at the supermarket nowadays have lost their flavour.  Tomatoes are one of them.  I love tomatoes, so feel very disappointed if they have no flavour at all.

I often roast tomatoes before adding them to salads.  We can extract the tomato's own sweet flavour by roasting.

The tomatoes used for this salad are also roasted, and the dressing is made with the oil used for cooking the tomatoes.  Fruity raspberry vinegar and sweet Japanese mayonnaise emphasise the tomatoes' flavour even more.


Ingredients for 2 - 3 people
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Roma tomatoes each cut into 6 wedges
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar
1 tablespoon QP mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Pommery mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 ripe avocado
3 - 4 handfuls green salad of your choice

Instructions
Place the tomatoes in an oven proof dish and drizzle the olive oil all over.  Season with salt and vigorous black pepper.  Roast the tomatoes in an preheated oven at 400F for about 20 minutes.  Carefully turn over the tomatoes once halfway through.

Remove the tomatoes to a plate and leave to cool completely.  Reserve the oil in the dish.

Add the vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard and sugar to the reserved oil and mix well.  Season with extra salt and black pepper if neccessary.

Halve the avocado, then stone and peel.  Cut it into 1/2 inch cubes.

Dish up the green salad to a large plate and arrange the roasted tomatoes and avocado.  Drizzle the Framboise (raspberry) dressing all over.


Bon appetit!

Double Avocado Mexican Style Salad

My husband loves my guacamole and I think it is really good too.  I have never tasted a better guacamole than mine even in a Mexican restaurant.

Making a modification to my guacamole recipe, I have made a beautiful salad using two avocados.  One is a part of the salad ingredients and the other is used for dressing.

Fresh cilantro makes you feel refreshed and gives a hint of Mexican flavour.  Avocado lovers will die for this salad!


Ingredients for 4 people
(Dressing)
1 avocado
2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
1 teaspoon lime zest (about 1/2 to 1 lime)
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin powder
a dash of Tabasco
salt and black pepper to taste
MSG to taste (optional)

(Salad)
3 tomatoes skinned, seeded and cut into half inch cubes
1 red bell pepper, seeded, removed the membrane and cut into half inch squares
2-3 green onions, chopped
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 avocado

Cayenne pepper or chilli power to garnish

Instructions
To make the dressing, halve the avocado, then remove the stone and peel.  Put the flesh into a small bowl and immediately pour the lime juice all over to help stop it discoloring.

Using a spoon, scrape off the remaining green flesh from the skins and add to the bowl.  Mash the avocado well with an avocado masher (or potato masher or even a fork) until it becomes smooth.

Add the other ingredients of dressing to the bowl and mix well.  Set aside.

Place all the ingredients of salad excepting the avocado into a larger mixing bowl.

Now, halve the second avocado for the salad, then remove the stone and peel.  Cut it into half inch cubes and add to the other salad ingredients.  Like you did for the first avocado, scrape off the remaining green flesh from the skin and add to the dressing bowl, then mix.

Add the dressing to the salad bowl and mix well. 

Serve with sprinkles of cayenne pepper or chilli power.


If you would like to read this recipe in Japanese, please click HERE.

Bon appetit!

Pork in Miso Soup

Miso soup is an inevitable side dish for Japanese cuisine.  Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning and all-rounder.  It is used not only to make soups but also give UMAMI to cooking.  You may think it strange, but I sometimes add miso when I am making Frensh bechamel sauce to make it milder.

Miso soup made with this all-round seasoning can therefore harmonise with almost any ingredients we add; vegetables, meat, fish, tofu, noodles, etc.,etc.  We have hundreds of different types of miso soups in Japan.

Among those various miso soups, one cooked with pork is speciallly called Buta Jiru or Ton Jiru (Buta/Ton both mean pork in Japanese, and Jiru is a voiced consonant form of Shiru which means soup).  This Western broth-alike soup is very delicious and one of everyone's favourite winter dishes.

Buta Jiru can be served as a side dish, but also became a beautiful main dish if you serve in a larger soup bowl together with a bowl of warm rice.


Ingredients for 4 people as side/2 people as main dish
Salad oil to fry
1 clove garlic peeled and finely chopped
1 knob fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped
5oz thin sliced belly pork cut into 1.5 inch width (bacon is not suitable for this dish!)
3 cups fish stock*
1 small potato peeled, cut into 1/10 inch thick slices, soaked in water for a few minutes and drained
4 oz daikon (about 1 inch long of large daikon) peeled and cut into 1/10 inch thick slices
2 oz carrot (3 inches of medium sized carrot) peeled and cut into 1/10 inch thick circles
5 oz firm tofu (1/3 of a block of tofu) cut into a half inch cubes
3 oz miso (brown)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
MSG to taste (optional)
1 bunch (3.5 oz) of enoki mushroom
4 tablespoons chopped green onion
Shichimi to taste (optional)

*fish stock: Add about 4 cups of water in a pan and bring to a boil.  Add one handful (about 1oz) of fish flakes to the pan.  Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat.  Stand for a few minutes until the flakes sink.  Sieve using a good quality kitchen paper.  Fish flakes are available at Japanese food stores.

Alternatively, you can use granulated fish stock which is also available at Japanese food stores.  Make 3 cups of stock following the directions on the package.

If, however, you can not get either fish flakes or granulated stock, simply use 3 cups of water.  Do not attempt to use Western fish broth which should not be substituted for this dish.


Instructions
Heat salad oil in a deep pan and cook the garlic and ginger for 1 minute until they become fragrant.   Then, add the pork and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the meat is no longer red.

Pour the fish stock into the pan and bring to a boil.

Add the potato, daikon and carrot.  Cover the lid and simmer for 7-8 minutes until the vegetables are soft (but not crushed!).

Add the tofu and cook (covered) for further 3 minutes.

Add the miso to the pan.  If you have a miso strainer or equally small strainer, add the miso in it and whisk with chopsticks or a spoon until it is dissolved.  Otherwise, put miso in a cup and add a ladle or two of liquid from the pan, whisk and dissolve, then add to the pan.

Add the enoki mushrooms and bring to a boil.  Season with the soy sauce and MSG (if you are using), then immediately remove from the heat.  Remember do not cook for too long after you add the miso, or it loses its flavour.

Serve hot in miso soup cups (if serving as a side dish, or use soup bowls if serving as the main course). Garnish with some green onion and sprinkle Shichimi pepper if you like.  Shichimi pepper is nowadays often found at Oriental food corner of your local supermarkets.

Bon appetit!