Stephane Lemagnen

Courtesy of Steve Cylka (The Black Peppercorn and author of the Everything Guide to Sous Vide Cooking, Adams Media 2015)
Serves 2 to 3

INGREDIENTS

• 1 rack back ribs

For the marinade

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) soy sauce
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) hoisin sauce
• 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) sesame oil
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) Sriracha sauce

For garnish

• 3 tablespoons (30 g ) toasted sesame seeds.
• 6 green onions, trimmed and sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel the thin membrane off the back of the ribs and cut them into individual rib portions.
2. In a small bowl, whisk all the marinade ingredients together.
3. Put ribs into a large bowl or zip-closure bag and pour the marinade over them. Toss the ribs to ensure they are completely coated in the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or zip seal and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
4. Midway through the marinating process, turn the ribs around to make sure all the sides get coated in enough marinade.
5. Fill and preheat the Sous Vide Supreme water oven to 160F/71C.
6. Put the ribs (about 5 at a time) in a single layer into small (quart/0.9 liter) cooking pouches and vacuum seal.
7. There should be about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the marinade left in the bowl. Keep it in the fridge to make a glaze later.
8. Submerge the ribs in the water oven to cook for 18 hours.
9. With about 30 minutes of cooking time left for the ribs, heat the reserved marinade in a small saucepan on medium/low heat to cook; reduce by about half to a nice glaze.
10. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425F.
11. Remove the pouches of ribs from the water oven and open and, using tongs, transfer the ribs to a broiling pan.
12. Brush the ribs with some of the glaze and put them in the oven for 5 minutes.
13. After 5 minutes, brush the ribs with glaze once more and put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes.
14. Arrange on a serving platter and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

…with Corona Beans, Chorizo & Sherry-Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette
Courtesy of Stephane Lemagnen (zencancook.com)
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

For the sous-vide octopus

• 8 cups (1.9 liters) water
• 1 carrot, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 celery stalk, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) black peppercorn
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) white wine vinegar
• 1 medium-sized octopus

For the vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) aged sherry vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 anchovy filet, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) smoked paprika (plus some for garnish)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) Spanish olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the bean and chorizo side

• 1 link (6 inches/15 cm) Spanish chorizo, sliced
• 2 cups (350 g) corona beans, cooked
• 1/4 cup (10 g) chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup (45 g) Nicoise olives

DIRECTIONS

1. Fill and preheat the SousVide Supreme to 185F/85C.
2. In a large saucepan on the stovetop, put the water, carrot, onion, celery, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and black peppercorn to make a poaching liquid and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add the white wine vinegar and keep at a simmer.
4. Wash the octopus in plenty of cold water and remove the tentacles with a sharp knife. (Discard the body.)
5. Bring the simmering pot of poaching liquid to a boil.
6. Blanch the octopus for about 45 seconds and remove from the poaching liquid to an ice water bath to cool rapidly. Drain. Cool the poaching liquid.
7. Put the octopus into two separate large cooking pouches, add a few tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) of the poaching liquid to the pouches and vacuum-seal.
8. Submerge the pouches in the water oven and cook for 4 hours. Cool in an ice water bath until easy to handle.
9. Open the pouches, discard the liquid. Remove the slimy membrane from the octopus tentacles.
10. Put the octopus into a fresh cooking pouch with olive oil and vacuum seal.
11. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
12. Grill to re-warm and impart caramelized color and taste before serving.

To prepare the vinaigrette and beans

1. In a small bowl, make the vinaigrette by whisking together the sherry vinegar, garlic, shallot, anchovy, mustard, smoked paprika and olive oil.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In a sauté pan over medium heat, crisp the chorizo slices in a little of the olive oil. Drain on paper towel.
4. In a separate bowl, toss the corona beans, parsley, olives, and chorizo slices with some of the vinaigrette. Check seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve with the grilled octopus with more vinaigrette drizzle on top and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 (6 ounce/180 gram) halibut fillets
• 2 tablespoons (1 fl oz/ 30 ml) citrus infused olive oil or 2 tablespoons cold butter (1 oz/ 28 g), cubed
• 8 thin slices of assorted citrues (grapefruit, lime, lemon, orange)
• Sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fill and preheat the SousVide Supreme to 132F/ 55.5C.
2. Season both sides of the halibut fillets with sea salt.
3. Put the fillets into a small (1 quart/0.9 liter) cooking pouch, place the citrus slices on each side of the fillet. Make sure to leave some room in between each fillet, 2-3 per cooking pouch.
4. Drizzle in the citrus olive oil or toss in the butter and vacuum seal.
5. Submerge the pouches in the water bath and cook for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from the SousVide Supreme and serve immediately with your favorite sauce.

Here are two of our favorites:

Citrus Beurre Blanc
Yields: 1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons (1 fl oz/30 ml) dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon (0.5 fl oz/15 ml) fresh grapefruit juice
• 1 tablespoon (0.5 fl oz/15 ml) fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon (0.5 fl oz/15 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon (0.5 fl oz/15 ml) fresh orange juice
• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 8 ounces (226 g) cold butter, cut into 16 cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan bring wine, citrus juices and shallots to a boil. Reduce to about 1 ½ tablespoons (0.8 fl oz/23 ml) of liquid.
2. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Pull the saucepan from the heat and whisk in 2 cubes of butter; as it melts whisk in one more piece.
3. Set the pan over the lowest heat setting and continuously whisk one piece of butter into the mixture at a time, making sure that each piece is melted prior to adding the next.
4. Pull the saucepan off of the heat when the last piece is melted.
5. Spoon immediately onto serving plates and top with fish. Alternatively drizzle over the top of fish.

Pounded Olive & Orange Sauce
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small red onion, peeled and frenched (halved and sliced thinly lengthwise)
• ¼ cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) olive oil
• 8 oz (227 g) Castelvetrano Olives
• 8 oz (227 g) mixture of your favorite olives (both with and without pits)
• 3 oranges, divided, 1 for juicing (ie. Valencia) and 2 for segmenting (ie. Cara Cara/Navel)
• ⅓ cup (2.7 fl oz/78.9 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• small handful of fresh basil, coarsely chopped
• small handful of Italian flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
• freshly ground black pepper & sea salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the pitted olives in half or in quarters if particularly big.
2. With the blunt side of your knife press the olives with pits until they split, or using a heavy bottomed pan pound the olives until split.
3. In a saute pan warm ¼ cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) olive oil over medium-heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, approximately 8 minutes.
4. Add freshly squeezed orange juice and olives and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the orange segments and shut off the heat.
6. Toss in fresh basil and parsley. Drizzle in ⅓ cup fruity olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Courtesy of Stephane Lemagnen (zencancook.com)
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

For the sous vide pork belly

• 2 pounds (0.9 kg) pork belly, skin on
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) coriander seeds, coarsely ground
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) star anise, coarsely ground
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) cardamom, coarsely ground
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) black pepper, coarsely ground
• 1/2 stick cinnamon, coarsely ground
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) sake
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) mirin
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce

For the dashi (udon broth)

• 2 quarts (1.8 liters) water
• 5 squares (6-inches/15 cm) dried kombu
• 1 cup (240 ml) tightly packed bonito flakes

For the udon

• 6 handfuls udon noodles
• 2 heads enoki mushrooms
• 10 shiitake mushrooms
• 6 organic eggs
• some leafy greens, such as bok choy
• nori/ dry shrimp mix
• hot pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

For the sous-vide pork belly

1. Rinse the pork belly and pat dry.
2. In a small bowl, combine the salt and ground spices.
3. Coat the pork belly with the salt and spice mixture, place in a pyrex dish, cover and refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours.
4. When ready to cook, fill and preheat the SousVide Supreme to 144F/62C.
5. Wash off the salt cure in cold running water and dry the pork belly.
6. In a small bowl, combine the sake, mirin and soy sauce.
7. Put the pork belly into a large cooking pouch with the sake mixture and vacuum seal. (Take care not to pull the liquid into the suction portal if using a suction vacuum. Alternatively, use a zip closure cooking pouch and the displacement principle to seal the pouch.)
8. Submerge the pouch in the water bath and cook for 36 hours.
9. Remove the pork belly from the water bath and quick chill, submerged in a bowl of iced water. Do not open the pouch. Refrigerate overnight with a weight on top.
10. Open the pouch and scrape off the pork “consommé” from around the belly and use with the dashi (see below step 5).

For the dashi (udon broth)

1. Place the squares of kombu in a pot, along with the two quarts of water.
2. Over medium heat, slowly bring the pot of water to a near-boiling point. Remove the kombu.
3. Add the bonito flakes. Wait for a few seconds until the liquid comes to a light simmer and turn off the heat.
4. Let the bonito flakes sink to the bottom of the pot. Strain the dashi through a fine strainer.
5. In a small saucepan melt the pork consommé gelatin. Strain and combine with the dashi to taste.

For the udon

1. Fill and preheat the SousVide Supreme to 147F/64C.
2. Gently place the eggs (in their shells) into the water and cook for 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile bring the pot of dashi to a simmer; add the udon noodles and cook until tender.
4. Add the enoki and shiitake mushrooms and poach them gently in the broth.
5. Add the leafy greens.

Finishing:

1. Pan-fry a chunk of pork belly on the skin side until crisp and place in a 325F/163C oven until tender throughout.
2. Ladle the udon and broth into large bowls. Top with mushrooms, greens, pork belly slices, nori and hot pepper. Crack the poached egg on top and serve.