Minestroni

I am slowly developing my version of a minestroni soup. There is Italian version: taught by Jamie Olivers et al which is fry the root/stock vegetables then add tomatoes, beans, then pasta and cabbage. Sprinkle generously with parmesan before tucking in.

A few tips for a good minestroni are: add the rind of parmesan cheese in the soup while its boiling, fry some bacon with the root vegetables.

I start with a basic tomato sauce taught to be by Jocelyn. Fry some garlic slices in oil. I added bacon as well. When its well fried, remove all fried garlic and bacon. Add a tin of tomatoes into the oil, add your dried herbs like rosemary and oregano and cook till it becomes a sauce. You can use this for pasta, pizza topping or anything.

Then add the vegetables you want in the soup - carrots, beans, chick peas, peppers, onions. Add some chicken stock and cook till the vegetables are soft. Add some chopped salami (some dried leftover salami is perfect) or sausage. Just before serving add some pasta. When it is soft, add some chopped curly cabbage like the silverbeet, cavalo nero or chinese cabbage.

When the pasta is soft and cabbage is cooked, serve into bowls, sprinkle generously with parmesan and some cheddar, parsley and tuck in. Don't forget the fried bacon!

Aozora, again

We took Jocelyn's visit for another opportunity to visit Aozora. This was our sashimi plate. Not just a beautiful picture - we had:

suzuki with japanese chives,

toro with shiso leaves,

maguro with shiso flowers,

akagai with shreded ginger shoot and lime,

iwashi with grated ginger and spring onions

and ikura with salt and lime.

The sea bass was in season and the best!

This was followed by:

japanese foie gras (a type of fish liver) in soy sauce, spring onions and wakame.

grilled scallop with nori,

fried white bait, lemon and salt,

anago sushi,

kawahagi,

aburi toro sushi,

miso soup,

home made caramel and salt ice cream.

Lots of bowing and sushi kata des, wow.