We invited Shawn Barker, a Sommelier and Chef, shared how he got started with Sous Vide. If your are interested trying our Sous Vide then this is the episode for you.

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Anova Culinary AN500-US00 Sous Vide Precision Cooker

Your multi-course meal

Appetizer – Baked fresh figs

This is a small, simple appetizer, that’s packed with flavor.

Recipe:

• Fresh figs (mission figs or green figs – doesn’t matter as long as they are fresh and ripe).  Cut the little stem at the top off and then quarter the fig most of the way down, but not all the way, as you want the fig to stay together.
• Smoky cheese – like a smoked Gouda.  Put a strip of cheese down the middle and little strips on the crosses.
• Prosciutto.  Wrap the fig with a strip of prosciutto, so that you have a little bundle of fig joy.
• Drizzle a little honey over top.
• Bake at 400F for 10 minutes or so until the prosciutto crisps a little.  You can bake these in the oven, or on a soaked cedar plank on the grill.

Suggested wine pairing:

• Pierre Sparr Cremant d’Alsace
• I always open sparkling wine when my guests first arrive.  Sparkling goes with almost anything – so it will carry through the appetizer course.  Look for Cremant – there are eight regions where it’s made, so don’t worry if you can’t find Cremant d’Alsace.  It’s French, made the same way as Champagne, but it will set you back $15 instead of $50+!

Soup course – Butternut squash soup with spicy pancetta

Soup is great – it’s simple to make, you can cook it early in the day or even the day before, and a garnish or two will make it a highlight of the meal.

Recipe:

• This butternut squash soup recipe by Jamie Oliver is a mainstay at my house. 
• Skip the croutons – we’ll get our crouton fix with the salad.
• Buy some thick cut spicy pancetta, dice it up, and add it to the oil before you fry the sage.  When it’s good and crispy, remove it and save it for garnish.
• The combination of the pancetta and fried sage garnishes make this soup a killer.  I always drizzle a little quality olive oil on top as well.
• I’ve also used leftover pulled pork as a garnish.  Just shred it, and fry it in a dry pan for a few minutes to warm it and crispen it up.

Suggested wine pairing:

• Robert Mondavi Private Selection Chardonnay
• The soup is rich and creamy, and I’d serve it with a rich and creamy Chardonnay.  A Chardonnay from California that has a little oak would work perfectly!

Salad course – Chicken & spinach salad with bacon vinaigrette

I nabbed this recipe straight out of the Big Green Egg cookbook, except I sous-vide the chicken before finishing it on the grill for 3 – 4 minutes.

Chicken

• Chicken breasts, trimmed.  Dry rub them with a Cajun rub like Emeril’s Essence, then vacuum seal or in a Ziploc with the air removed.  Pop it in the sous-vide bath at 150F for anywhere between 1 and 4 hours.  When you’re ready to serve the salad, finish the breasts on the grill for 3 – 4 minutes max and rest a few minutes before slicing.  You can take the chicken out of the sour-vide a few hours before you cook the steaks, and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to finish them on the grill.

Croutons

• French bread, ½” dice, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350F for 5 – 10 minutes, turning a few times, until they are crispy and golden.  Or just buy some.

Salad

• Baby spinach
• Thinly sliced red onion
• Thinly sliced small white mushrooms

Vinaigrette

• Fry up a couple slices of bacon in a pan.  Remove bacon, pat dry and rough dice.
• In the bacon oil add ¼ cup minced shallots, a couple of minced garlic cloves, fry for 2 minutes.
• Lower the heat, add ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, salt & pepper and stir well.
• Heat off, and slowly whisk in ½ cup olive oil.

Toss the vinaigrette with the salad, bacon, and croutons.  Arrange the sliced grilled sous-vide chicken on top and serve family style!

Suggested wine pairing:

• Any New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
• New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is zesty, so it goes well with the acidity in the salad dressing and is a good contrast to the Cajun rubbed chicken.

Main course – Sous-vide ribeye steaks with cedar planked mashed potatoes

Steaks

• My favorite dry rub for ribeyes is this Emeril Ancho Chile rub. For a perfect medium rare, I’ll cook them in the sous-vide bath at 124F for anywhere between 1 and 3 hours, then finish on a hot grill for 30 – 60 seconds a side.

Mashed potatoes

• Make your regular mashed potato recipe, but make them the day before and keep them in the fridge. This way they’ll starch up and won’t run when you plank them.
• Soak the cedar plank for an hour.
• Use an ice cream scoop to create balls of mashed potatoes on the plank.  Bake on the grill at 400F for 15 – 20 minutes.  You want the outside to brown a little for texture.

Suggested wine pairing:

• An Argentina Malbec, like Luigi Bosca
• Malbec is a big and juicy wine that will hold up to the strong flavours and smoke in this course.

Dessert – Cedar planked brie

Recipe

• Full wheel of Brie
• Top the wheel of Brie generously with a mix of blueberries, cooked bacon, green onions, and honey.
• Bake on the grill, on a soaked cedar plank, at 400F for 10 – 15 minutes – until it starts to brown, but before it bursts.
• Serve family style right on the plank (rest it on a baking sheet to save your table), with crackers or fresh baguette

Suggested wine pairing:

• Taylor Fladgate Late Bottle Vintage Port

Tip

1. Start simple Zip lock bags are fine
2. Keep and open mind
3. Try everything protein and veggies

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