Daily Archives: August 11, 2015

Compressed Apricot Salad

Serves 4 INGREDIENTS 4 ripe apricots 2 tablespoons (30 ml) simple syrup 1 lemon, for zest and juice, divided use For the salad Juice of the lemon 1 tablespoon (15 ml) champagne vinegar ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) good balsamic vinegar ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) dried minced shallots Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra virgin olive oil 2 cups (40 g) fresh arugula, well washed and dried 2 tablespoons (30 ml) sliced almonds DIRECTIONS Cut the apricots in half and remove the pit, then slice the halves into thin rounds. Drizzle the rounds with … Read More

Sous Vide Compression: Squeeze Me Sweet

Vacuum sealing is an important step in optimizing the perfectly reproducible cooking that sous vide technique offers (after all, the term sous vide itself means ‘under vacuum’). But while it’s immersion in an precision heated water bath that cooks the food perfectly, the compression itself offers advantages on its own. Compressing fruits and vegetables (and even chicken breast, but that’s another subject!) alters the texture and even appearance of the food, particularly if done with a chamber vacuum sealer that can really put the press on. Pressure makes fruits denser and sweeter and more translucent; it changes their character in … Read More