Discovering Japan: Creamy Edamame Soup with Shichimi-Togarashi

Tokyo is a weird and wonderful place. On the surface, it shouldn't work as well as it does.  Millions of people crowded into a very tiny space.  Incomprehensive street addresses (every taxi driver struggles to find your destination, GPS working overtime, map scrutinized at every light).  A subway system that spiders all over the city in a confusing web of intersecting lines.  No English signs in sight, and barely more "English spoke here" places.  What pulls it all together is the Japanese themselves.  Unfailingly courteous and interested, the Japanese make strangers feel welcome and cared for.  Even if you're not 'xactly sure what you're eating. 

Barbecued eel for lunch, in a restaurant that served nothing but

There are so many things to love about Tokyo, but what I love most is the reverence with which food is held. The Japanese worship at the altar of seasonality, each piece of fruit, each specialty food item sacred. Food is not merely sustenance; it’s something to be savoured, appreciated, each meal a leisurely exploration of every taste.

Wasabi grating in action at Seamon

Nowhere is this reverence more apparent than in the hundreds of tiny food shops that dot the city. Many have been in business for decades, honing their expertise in either crafting or choosing the very best. Many sell just one thing – a certain type of pickled plum, say, or Japanese omelettes (come early – the shop closes when the omelettes are gone).  On a recent trip to Tokyo, and with Food Sake Tokyo* as our bible, we set out on the trail to find culinary treats to take home. Musk melons at $250.00 were out of the question (and, yes, that’s not an incorrect decimal point!), as was fresh wasabi, seen grated a la minute at sushi counters throughout the city.

About $250USD for two - and perfect in every way

Fresh wasabi - slightly more reasonable at about $16USD

Spices seemed like a good bet, and how could we not visit Yagenbori, in business since 1625, and the proud originators and purveyors of Shichimi-Togarashi? This wonderfully complex seven spice blend gives dishes deeply subtle nuances of flavour.  It's a medium-spicy blend of seven ingredients: black sesame seeds; the dried peel of the unshu mikan (Satsuma orange); Japanese sansho pepper; dried capsicum; roasted dry capsicum; hemp seeds and poppy seeds.

The delicious mixture for Shichimi-Togarashi

While your spices are being packaged you can choose a traditional wooden shaker

I knew exactly what I wanted to try it on when I got home – my attempt to recreate a cold and creamy edamame soup I had in Tokyo that was so so good. The soup turned out to be incredibly easy, and with fresh edamame still available at the farmers’ market (and frozen a grocery store away), edamame soup is as easy as one-two-three.

Creamy Edamame Soup
serves 4-6

Edamame beans, fresh or frozen, enough to yield two cups shelled
1 shallot, sliced
2 c chicken soup stock
½ tbsp vegetable oil
1½ c fresh buttermilk or skim milk
1 tbsp fresh butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Shichimi-togarashi for garnish (optional - you can order it here)

1. Boil edamame beans. Shell edamame and also remove the fine skin on the beans. While this may seems like an additional step, it will yield an ultra smooth soup.

2. Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté shallots. Add chicken soup stock and edamame, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.

3. Puree the edamame beans, and put back into the saucepan. Add the buttermilk and butter. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Add butter, salt, and pepper to season.

Fresh edamame beans - beautiful variations of colour

The buttermilk yield from homemade butter

Final step to soup...

This rich, delicious and nutritious soup is fabulous served either warm or cold. Serve it in small cups as a starter, or in shot glasses for a wonderfully different appetiser.

A taste of Japan

*If you visit Tokyo, you need a personal guide to help you navigate. The newly published Food Sake Tokyo is all you will need. A carefully edited and lovingly assembled collection of all things food, chef and former depachica sommelier Yukari Sakamoto turns even the shortest trip to Tokyo into a culinary adventure. Check out her blog for up to the minute tips and tastes.

Flower Power: Pasta with Zucchini Flowers, inspired by La Bella Italia

If I could pinpoint one thing that I love about Italy – one word that sums up the feeling I have there – it’s leisurely. Lunch is a two hour affair. One lingers over a coffee as long as a three course meal. Yet things move simultaneously fast and in slow motion. That exquisite first slither of pasta. A waiter rushing past to make sure the plates get to the table HOT. You are surrounded by an energy that centres on the plate. And because so much time is taken up in eating – eating deliberately and joyfully – there must be real satisfaction in it.

Our lunch at Trattoria Quattro Leoni in Florence was the perfect manifestation of all of that. Like many of the city’s best osterie and trattorie, it’s been around forever. Well, 1550, to be exact. My guess is that there are items on the menu that aren’t that far off from what a poor struggling Renaissance artist might have enjoyed those many years ago. 

Here's a visual tour of our lunch...

A mixed plate of Crostini misti of course featured beans and lardo

No surprise that I chose Antipasti toscano: affetati e crostini di fegato

(assorted cured meats and a delicious chicken liver crostini that is unquely Tuscan)

Penne al sugo alla toscana

Pici alla salsiccia e finocchietto

This was definitely the "winner".  Pici is a thick, hand rolled pasta - think spaghetti on steroids.  The gorgeous sauce had two types of sausage.

The place was renovated in 1995, but it still retains an air of authenticity. Who matters as much as what...here’s what Quattro Leoni’s website says about the trattoria’s manager:

Stefano di Puccio is the actual manager of the Quattro Leoni. He is well known in the city not only for his past activity as a player of the Historical Florentine Soccer, but also for his inclination to cooking, his sincere hospitality and he is a very nice guy.

Football, hospitality, plus he’s a nice guy. What more could you want a pranzare?

Here’s another take on fabulous pici from Fabio Bongianni, complete with step by step photos of how to make your own pici. Pici Pachino, Porcini e Fiori di Zucca. 

While I didn’t make my own pasta today, I also took advantage of the market's bounty of zucchini flowers to create a wonderful pasta dish for lunch today, inspired by Ottolenghi. Sitting outside with friends, sipping wine and idling the afternoon away was almost as good as being in la bella Italia.

Torchietti with Zucchini
serves four as an appetiser portion

One of my guests is a vegan, and this pasta (made with dried semolina pasta) is perfect, with grated cheese optional for your other diners.

⅓ c olive oil, plus ¼ c
Flour, about ¼ c
6 baby zucchini
9-12 fresh zucchini flowers
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
½ c frozen edamame beans
6-8 large basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
¼ c chopped Italian parsley
2-3 sprigs fresh marjoram
250 g good quality dried pasta
Grated zest of one lemon
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano, optional

1. Trim and slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin slices. Dredge very lightly in the flour, shaking to remove excess flour. Set aside on a clean plate.

2. Prepare the zucchini flowers. Open the flowers gently and remove the pistils. Set aside.

3. In a medium skillet, heat ⅓ c olive oil over medium heat. Gently fry the zucchini until lightly browned, and turn to brown both sides. The zucchini will turn brown quickly. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.

4. In the same pan, quickly fry the zucchini flowers until they are just wilted (they do need to be dredged in flour). Place in the same bowl with the zucchini slices, pour the sherry on top, stir and set aside.

5. Steam or blanch the edamame for a few minutes until they are barely tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.

6. Combine the basil, parsley and olive oil in a small food processor and blend to form a thick paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

7. Cook the pasta according to directions in salted boiling water. When the pasta is al dente, drain, and return it to the hot pan, shaking to dry slightly. Immediately add the basil/parsley sauce, and then add the zucchini, edamame, lemon zest and capers. Stir to combine and serve.