sesame, soy and sugar

i have said it before.

but i ll say it again.

there is something very comforting in taking your time to cook. nothing too fancy, but nothing too frenzied either. and definitely something that evokes taste memories of your childhood.

so, take out your mother s mortar. you know, the Japanese one with the special grooves.

toast your sesame seeds (careful, don t let them burn), pour them into the mortar and start grinding.

slowly.

let your hands do the work, while you savor the scent and think of nothing else.

calm down.

then add the other essentials, soy sauce, sugar and a tiny dash of mirin.

there you go. perfect. you don t need anything else now.

except for your vegetables. here are some French green beans.

oh, i could add this as a dressing for some carrots too, yes? or some lightly cooked spinach? gently grilled aubergine perhaps?

SESAME SOY DRESSING:
from 'Everyday Harumi' by Harumi Kurihara

INGREDIENTS:

50 gr white sesame seeds
1 or 2 tablespoons of fine white caster sugar
1/2 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon soy sauce
salt - to season
a little bit of water to let the sauce down, if too thick

black cherry and marrons glacés ice-cream

it had to happen.

for the whole duration of my short holiday, it kept raining on and off. not much else to do but go on a cooking spree ofcourse.

we did go to Maastricht in The Netherlands for a day-trip, and there we found a beautiful little ice-cream parlor serving the most incredible flavored ice-creams we had ever tasted.

here s Sam who couldn t wipe the smile off his face with his gelato di fragole e limone.

the next day, i just couldn t help myself. i had to make some of my own ice-cream again. a few years ago, i had received an ice-cream maker for my birthday from Sam s mom. and every summer i had made different flavored ice-creams, pretty classical ones like vanilla and chocolate and mocha, as well as green tea and black sesame flavored ones.

but this time i wanted to make something just a little bit different. i had bought a packet of marrons glacés (candied chestnuts) in Cassel, France, and i also had a few black cherries left in the fridge.

so i chopped up a few marrons. and lightly simmered a few pitted cherries. made a vanilla flavored ice-cream base. mixed and churned. and it turned out beautifully.

BLACK CHERRY AND MARRONS GLACÉS ICE-CREAM:

INGREDIENTS:
(for about 500ml)

FOR THE VANILLA BASE:

125 ml milk, preferably full-fat
tiny pinch of salt
75 gr fine white caster sugar
1 vanilla bean
3 egg-yolks
250 ml cream

TO ADD:
3 or 4 marrons glacés, chopped
10 black cherries, halved and pitted

METHOD:
1. heat the milk, the sugar, the vanilla bean (halved lengthways), the pinch of salt, until the sugar has dissolved.
2. cover and leave to infuse for about an hour.
3. beat the egg-yolks, re-heat the milk slightly and add slowly to the yolks.
4. return to the saucepan, and over a low heat, keep stirring until you get a slightly thick custard.
5. cool and add to the cream.
6. leave to cool completely, preferably overnight in the fridge.
7. meanwhile, heat the cherry halves in a little bit of water and sugar until softened. leave to cool.
8. strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve and pour into your ice-cream maker and churn according to machine instructions.
9. halfway through churning, add the chopped marrons and the cherries.
10. churn until ready, put into a plastic container, cover and freeze completely.
11. to serve, take the ice-cream out of the freezer and let it soften slightly so it can be easily scooped.

should you not have an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze. every two hours, beat the mixture and also add the marrons and cherries halfway through. then mix again until completely frozen.

again, a little bit different, but nice anyway.

yellow plum frangipane tart

i had some yellow plums.

i also had ground almonds and i found a new pie tin in Dille & Kamille.

so i just had to make a frangipane tart.

YELLOW PLUM FRANGIPANE TART:
(adapted from a recipe by Angela Hartnett)

INGREDIENTS:

6 yellow plums (or any other ripe plums), stones taken out and cut in 8ths

for the pastry:
200 gr self-raising flour
100 gr unsalted butter
1 egg
tiny bit of ice-cold water

for the frangipane filling:
100 gr fine caster sugar
100 gr butter
100 gr ground almonds
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon curd, optional

METHOD:

1. for the pastry, rub the butter very quickly into the flour so you end up with something like rough breadcrumbs
2. add the egg and bring together very quickly, if necessary add some water for more cohesion, but don t over-knead
3. wrap in clingfilm and cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes
4. meanwhile, beat the sugar and butter for the filling until very creamy.
5. add the egg and beat well.
6. if using, add the lemon curd and mix in well.
7. add the ground almonds and, again, mix in well.
8. roll out the pastry dough to about 3mm thick and line the pastry tin (i used a long one, but a 22cm round one will work too), trim away excess.
9. line the pastry case with baking paper and fill with beans, rice, or ceramic spheres and bake blind in a 180°C oven for about 10 minutes
10. fill the cooled pastry case with the filling and arrange the plum slices on top
11. bake for about 30-40 minutes at 180°C until golden (it will fluff up a bit, and once cooled, it will be a bit denser)

seeing as the weathergods have decided to make up for a hot spring by bringing us a wet summer... this brought a little bit of sunshine in the house. so there...