Food – Page 3 – shady morels

Simple Sous Vide Beef Shank

Originally, I imagined that any cheap cut of meat cooked with the sous vide method would emerge tender and juicy after many hours. This is simply not true. I have learned that sous vide cooked meat can emerge tender, flavourful, and even medium rare but bizarrely enough also dry. For this reason, the beef was somewhat underwhelming directly out of the sous vide bath.

I sought to improve the dish by changing the sauce, which worked, but I also think this method for beef may simply benefit a different style of dish. It would work very well for a ravioli or other stuffed pasta, where the lack of moisture would actually be a benefit. I am intending on trying this in a future post, so stay tuned. I am also planning on documenting several different iterations of temperatures and cooking times to see if the moisture level can be improved by changing these variables.

I compared this dish with two sauces, first was a simply sherry pan sauce (pictured above) and the second was a red wine reduction sauce. The red wine reduction was a far superior accompaniment to the beef, and also filled the gap that I felt was missing due to the slight dryness of the beef.

Ingredients:

500g beef shank, bone removed

1 sprig thyme

1 garlic clove, halved lengthwise

8 whole peppercorns

1 tbsp olive oil

For the red wine reduction:

1/2 cup red wine

1 tbsp minced shallot

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp butter

1. Set sous vide bath to 75 degrees C and timer to 12 hours.

2. Lightly season the beef shank with salt, and place in the zip lock bag with the olive oil, thyme sprigs, and garlic clove. Remove air with the water bath method, seal tightly, and place in the sous vide bath for 12 hours.

3. Once the beef is done, remove from the sous vide bath and ziplock bag. Heat a pan to medium-high heat, add a glug of olive oil. When the oil just begins to smoke, add the beef and sear for 90 seconds a side, or until a nice caramelization develops. This will happen a lot faster than with raw beef, so monitor the beef closely when it is searing. Set the beef aside, and reduce the heat to medium.

4. Add the red wine and shallots to the hot pan and reduce by a half. Add the mustard and whisk to incorporate for about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from heat and add the butter while whisking continuously. Serve with the beef.

Enjoy!

Sous Vide Five Spice Pork Belly with Lime Emulsion

This dish was the result of an entire night dedicated to sous vide pork belly. Three variations were conceived based on the original base recipe, and this one emerged the unanimous favourite among the testers. It was an unforgettable experience, and I’m also grateful that I didn’t inadvertently put anyone into cardiac arrest by serving three courses of pork belly.

There were some amazing contrasts happening in this dish which prevented it from being too heavy. The richness of the pork belly was cut by the tart lime emulsion, and complimented by the exotic five spice. The crisp sear on the pork belly created a pleasing texture contrast to the melt-in-your-mouth delicateness of the sous vide pork. It really was an explosion of flavours and textures so this would best serve as a starter or tapas style dish, and would be overpowering as a main.

The basic method involved a five spice brine for 12 hours, followed by a 10 hour sous vide at 80 degrees C. The pork belly was exceptionally flavourful, tender, and juicy right out of the bath. Searing and serving with a complimentary sauce took it to a whole other level, and really showed the capabilities of the sous vide method.

For the brine:

1 L water

1 cup salt

1/8 cup Chinese five spice powder and 1 Tsp peppercorns in a cheesecloth satchel

2 Star Anise

For the pork belly:

500g good quality fresh pork belly, cut into 1 inch wide strips

1 Tbsp Chinese five spice powder

For the lime emulsion sauce:

3 Limes juiced, zest of 1 lime set aside

1 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Bring 1 L of water to a boil, remove from heat and add the salt, spice satchel, and the star anise. Let cool to room temperature.

2. Pierce pork belly with a knife all over. Place in brine and refrigerate for 12 hours.

3. Set sous vide to 80 degrees C. Rinse pork belly after the brine is complete to remove excess salt. Pat dry with a paper towel and season with the remaining five spice powder. Place the pork belly in a Zip-Loc bag and remove air with the water bath method. Ensure the Zip-Loc bag has a good seal, and place in the 80 degree C water bath for 10 hours.

4. Just before the sous vide bath is finished, combine the lime juice, sugar, and lime zest. Pour mixture into a small saucepan and simmer until reduced to a third. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter to emulsify. The sauce can be held tepid, and re-heated carefully when the pork is finished. Ensure the sauce is whisked while being re-heated.

5. After 10 hours in the sous vide bath, remove pork belly from Zip-Loc bag with some tongs and set aside. Place a small saucepan on high heat, wait for pan to be piping hot then sear pork belly for 90 seconds a side, or until a beautiful golden brown colour and crispy exterior has been achieved. The caramelization will actually happen quicker than you think at this point, so you will need to watch it to ensure the pork belly doesn’t burn.

6. Pour the lime emulsion into a shallow pasta dish, then top with the crispy pork belly. Garnish with julienned green onions, cilantro, or thai basil.

Enjoy!

Mayonnaise

If you’ve never made real mayonnaise before, your life is about to change. It’s actually an insult to mayonnaise that we call the store bought, processed, fallout-proof oil emulsification by the same name. Real mayonnaise is extremely easy to make after you understand the process, and all the ingredients can usually be found in any fridge and pantry. Variations on the base recipe are endless, and opens up a whole new world of sauces. To suggest a few variations on the base product: garlic and lemon (aioli), reduced red wine, smoked paprika (serve with jamon and manchego croquettas), wasabi, and of course sriracha. I’ve even heard of fish roe mayonnaise, but I have yet to try it.

This is the start of mayonnaise. Egg yolk, diijon mustard, and salt. There’s only one more ingredient past this point, but technique is the important thing.

To make, you’ll need the following (makes about 1/2 cup of mayo):

1 egg yolk

1/2 tbsp of diijon mustard

pinch of salt

Oil, vegetable oil for a light mayonnaise, olive oil for a richer, more flavorful mayo

Directions:

1. Place egg yolk, mustard, and salt into a bowl or pestle and mortar. Mix gently with a fork or whisk to incorporate.

2. Here is the crucial part. Add the oil in a small stream (think hourglass stream) and whisk with egg yolk mixture regularly, but not too rapidly. Too little oil is will not be an issue, too much and your mayonnaise will break. Continue to add the oil in a steady stream until the emulsification sets, then you can increase the rate at which you’re adding oil. Continue adding oil and whisking continuously until the desired firmness has been reached. If too firm, add some lemon juice to reduce the viscosity.

3. Your mayonnaise is complete, now is the time to enjoy as is, or create a variation with whatever flavor combinations you can think of.

Enjoy!

Cod Cheeks with Sauteed Pea Greens, Wasabi Vinaigrette, and Crispy Shallot

Sometimes creativity is inspired out of a lack of choices, this is one of those cases. I had recently returned from a trip to God’s Pocket Resort, located North of Port Hardy, BC. Our fridge was nearly empty after returning, but I was keen to taste the bounty of the trip. This particular ling cod was caught on the way back from surfing a remote beach break on the West coast of Canada’s mainland. Catching the fish was a magnificent end to what was already an incredible and unique adventure.

Filleting a fish like this is no easy task for us novices, but the advantage is you can take some cuts typically unavailable at your local fish monger and especially rare at the supermarket. In this case I’m talking about the cod cheeks, but I’ve heard that salmon belly is quite delicious as well, stay tuned for future posts! Halibut cheeks are more readily available, and can be easily substituted in this recipe:

1 Shallot, thinly sliced

About 2 tbsp light olive oil, or grapeseed oil (a few glugs, technically speaking)

2 Cod (or halibut) cheeks

Good bunch of pea shoots

Wasabi vinaigrette, ingredients follow

Salt and pepper to taste

For wasabi vinaigrette:

1 Tbsp wasabi mayonnaise, (or 1 Tsp. wasabi paste + 1 tbsp mayonnaise)

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp light olive oil or equivalent

Mix all vinaigrette ingredients together, whisk to combine, and set aside for use.

To make:

1. Preheat large saute pan to medium heat, add 1 tbsp of oil and the shallots. Saute shallots for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until a nice golden brown colour and crispy texture develops. If the shallots are browning too quickly, lower the heat. Keys are to keep the shallots spaced enough that oil surrounds each individual piece and to saute long enough to develop the crunchy texture. Set aside once cooked.

2. Heat the same pan to medium high, then add another small glug of olive oil. Season cod cheeks with salt and pepper, and saute for 5-6 minutes. These will cook quite quickly, so the challenge is to get some color without overcooking. Set aside once done.

3. Heat saute pan to high, then add pea shoots and toss for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add Wasabi vinaigrette to pan and toss a few times. Transfer to plate, and top with cod cheeks and crispy shallots. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Obligatory Morel Mushroom Recipe

A quick look at a dish conceived around beautiful fresh morels and one of my favourite concepts for cooking wild mushrooms.

Normally I conceive of a dish for dinner while shopping for groceries and not before, I like to be inspired by what is fresh, special, or even economical. On this particular day I stumbled across some rare early summer time jewels not normally available in your every day produce section, fresh morels!

My first inclination for these brainy shaped wild mushrooms was to saute them up with fresh thyme, shallot, white wine, and finished into a nice cream sauce. Normally morels and cream are a wicked combination, but dried morels are really better for that type of sauce due to their concentrated flavour. Also – you can pick up dried morels any time of the year, so I wanted to do something that showcased the freshness of these rare beauties.

What I decided to do was based on a mushroom bruschetta, which is one of my favourite things to make and serve to friends in my kitchen. The concept is simple, fresh wild mushrooms tossed onto a hot and dry cast iron pan (it brings out the woodiness and beautiful umami flavour of the mushrooms); then quickly sauteed in a piping hot pan with a glug of oil and some shallot or garlic, fresh herbs, scallions, and julienned chili; then finished with a splash of whatever alcohol you may have available, sherry and white wine are my favourites. Of course, once the alcohol is reduced to a nappe consistency it’s taken off the heat and finished with a generous knob of butter. Keys throughout the process are to maintain a high temperature, and not to overcrowd the pan. Once autumn rolls around again, I will do up a post about a version I’ve made with fresh chanterelles over a fire pit during a surf trip in Tofino.

The brushetta in this dish consists of fresh morels, thinly sliced garlic scapes, roasted shallot, dry vermouth, and butter. Served with a simple pan roasted chicken breast and sauteed potatoes (which I take very seriously, and will warrant a post of their own in the future).

Official recipe to follow, but for now enjoy the food porn!

Recipe:

1 Chicken breast, boneless and skin on.

1/4 cup of butter

1 large shallot, halved

1 Sprig fresh rosemary, intact

Handful of fresh morels, about 6-8 per chicken breast, halved

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup of fresh garlic scapes, thinly sliced

1/8 cup dry vermouth, white wine, or sherry

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Put nonstick oven-proof frying pan on medium-high heat and toss in a glug of olive oil.

2. Liberally season the chicken with the coarse pepper and salt, place (not toss) in the pan. Cook for about 5-6 minutes and flip once a nice golden brown colour has developed. Immediately add 1 tbsp of butter, as well as one of the shallot halves and the rosemary. Baste the chicken in the beautiful shallot-rosemary-butter sauce a few times, then toss the whole pan in the oven until the chicken is cooked through.

3. While the chicken is cooking, put another saute pan on high heat. Toss on the fresh morel mushrooms and dry saute until golden brown. You should be getting a beautiful nutty aroma at this point off the mushrooms. Set the mushrooms aside once browned and reduce heat to medium-high.

4. Add a glug of olive oil to the pan, then add the garlic scapes. Julienne the other shallot half, then add to the garlic scapes. Toss this around a few times with the oil so that good colour begins to form.

5. Toss the morels back in the pan with the garlic scapes and shallot, turn the heat to high. Wait about 30 seconds, then splash in the vermouth. We’re aiming for the vermouth to reduce to the nappe consistency in about 15 seconds, so there needs to be enough heat in the pan to achieve this without burning the mixture. Take the pan off the heat, and add 1 tbsp of the butter, season to taste and toss the mixture. Serve immediately over the chicken.

Enjoy!