Traditional French cooking of root vegetables softens the flavor of purées. If you’ve tried baby carrots sous vide and then glazed, you know that true carrot flavor can really shine through. I’ve been experimenting with a new way to make the purée in a water bath. These bags can be assembled days in advance and also partially cooked days in advance to speed preparation. Here are the steps: Freeze a disc of chicken stock. I use a ramekin. This takes at least 3 hours in my freezer. Take a Foodsaver bag (I’m using large for now) and insert about a tablespoon of chopped butter. Then press a large clove of garlic into the bottom. Avoid getting any residue at the top of the bag (to facilitate sealing). Chop a few carrots and a portion of onion. Thin rounds and small dice. Nothing is too small here. You can also use a food processor. Add these to the bag. Finally, add the disc of chicken stock to the bag and vacuum seal it. Before sealing, wipe the top of the bag, inside and out. Place the vacuum sealed bag into a 185 degree F water bath and let it cook for 3 to 5 hours. Remove the cooked bag from the water. It’s now possible to return this to the refrigerator and let it sit for up to 3 days. If eating directly after removing from the water bath, strain the contents of the bag and put the solids into a blender (optionally: do not strain … it depends on how you like your purée). Using only the solids will thicken the purée and allow you to thin it with cream (which is richer) but using the liquid from the bag instead of cream results in more carrot flavor and less cream flavor in the finished product. Add a tablespoon or so of heavy whipping cream plus salt and pepper to taste. Blend to the consistency that you desire. You can add more cream if you like it thinner or if you used more solids (carrots, onions, etc.). If you choose to refrigerate the bag after cooking, reheat it in a water bath before blending it. For tonight’s dinner, I’m reheating it while I’m cooking the steak at 120 degrees. You only need the high heat initially to break down the carrots and soften them. The second heating is just for reheat to keep it warm for serving. UPDATE: I actually find that 120 degrees F to reheat the bag isn’t hot enough. 140 degrees F is better. I can make this work in my kitchen because it takes the Sous Vide Supreme little time to get from 120 to 140 and if I start reheating the bags for a long time with the steak (to get them to 120), they move up fast enough that I can finish the purée just in time to add it during plating.

Traditional French cooking of root vegetables softens the flavor of purées. If you’ve tried baby carrots sous vide and then glazed, you know that true carrot flavor can really shine through. I’ve been experimenting with a new way to make the purée in a water bath. These bags can be assembled days in advance and also partially cooked days in advance to speed preparation.

Here are the steps:

  1. Freeze a disc of chicken stock. I use a ramekin. This takes at least 3 hours in my freezer.
  2. Take a Foodsaver bag (I’m using large for now) and insert about a tablespoon of chopped butter. Then press a large clove of garlic into the bottom. Avoid getting any residue at the top of the bag (to facilitate sealing).
  3. Chop a few carrots and a portion of onion. Thin rounds and small dice. Nothing is too small here. You can also use a food processor. Add these to the bag.
  4. Finally, add the disc of chicken stock to the bag and vacuum seal it. Before sealing, wipe the top of the bag, inside and out.
  5. Place the vacuum sealed bag into a 185 degree F water bath and let it cook for 3 to 5 hours.
  6. Remove the cooked bag from the water. It’s now possible to return this to the refrigerator and let it sit for up to 3 days.
  7. If eating directly after removing from the water bath, strain the contents of the bag and put the solids into a blender (optionally: do not strain … it depends on how you like your purée). Using only the solids will thicken the purée and allow you to thin it with cream (which is richer) but using the liquid from the bag instead of cream results in more carrot flavor and less cream flavor in the finished product.
  8. Add a tablespoon or so of heavy whipping cream plus salt and pepper to taste. Blend to the consistency that you desire. You can add more cream if you like it thinner or if you used more solids (carrots, onions, etc.).

If you choose to refrigerate the bag after cooking, reheat it in a water bath before blending it. For tonight’s dinner, I’m reheating it while I’m cooking the steak at 120 degrees. You only need the high heat initially to break down the carrots and soften them. The second heating is just for reheat to keep it warm for serving.

UPDATE: I actually find that 120 degrees F to reheat the bag isn’t hot enough. 140 degrees F is better. I can make this work in my kitchen because it takes the Sous Vide Supreme little time to get from 120 to 140 and if I start reheating the bags for a long time with the steak (to get them to 120), they move up fast enough that I can finish the purée just in time to add it during plating.

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  1. spurpura posted this

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