Simmered dish as takiawase

‘So fumi’ means, tasting of so. This Japanese word used since the Nara period (710-794), is another name for the substance now known by its Western name, butter. This is a very simple, original Kyoto Kitcho recipe taking autumn vegetables freshly picked that morning and cooking them in butter and dashi until tender, so that their umami can be tasted to the full. They are topped with a vegetable paste made from kombu dashi and butter for a well-rounded and mellow taste. From summer to autumn, they use fresh, local, organic vegetables in Kyoto, going every morning to pick them, and then using them in the restaurant that day. In this recipe, they use autumn aubergine, an ingredient loved by Japanese people for centuries. In autumn, the difference in temperature between the day and the evening grows greater, causing the inside of the aubergine to firm up and become more delicious. They also use traditional Kyoto vegetables such as the manganji togarashi, or Japanese green pepper, which gives the unique taste of Kyoto. The manganji togarashi grow in the Manganji region in Maizuru, Kyoto; they are large peppers with no heat to their taste. Their flesh is tender, and their sweet flavour blends perfectly with the butter in the dish.