Posts Tagged ‘feta’

“When the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail.”
-Abraham Maslow

OK, OK, I’ve gone a little sous vide crazy lately… but can you blame me?  Perhaps the most revolutionary cooking method of our lifetimes has just poked its head into my kitchen.  It’ll take more than a few weeks and a handful of medium-rare proteins before I’m over it.

We all know that the sous vide method produces flawless (and dare I say, unparalleled) steak.  But, did you know that the same magic works on lamb?  It’s an amazing and, frankly, jolting experience to watch an incredibly tender lamb loin chop fall off the bone, only to reveal that the interior is a perfect medium-rare.  How can this be?  In order to get lamb tender enough to fall apart, you have to braise the hell out of it, right?  Wrong. That’s where sous vide comes in.  I cooked the lamb shanks at 54.5C – a precise medium rare – for 24 hours, until they were just barely clinging to the bone.  And since lamb is so flavorful and succulent on its own, a simple slice of pita bread, some feta cheese and toasted tomatoes were all that was needed to create a really memorable dinner.

Makes: 4 little lamb wraps
Total kitchen time: 15 minutes active, 24 hours cooking
Special equipment required: sous vide immersion circulator, blowtorch (optional), vacuum sealer

Shopping list:

• 4 American lamb loin chops
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 4 pieces pita bread
• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• 1 cup roasted tomatoes (available in finer grocery stores, substitute sun dried tomatoes)

1. Heat your sous vide immersion circulator to 54.5C.
2. Pat the lamb chops dry and coat liberally with kosher salt.  Sear all sides with a blowtorch until just browned.  If you don’t have a blowtorch (you should get one if you’re gonna be sous videing) preheat a skillet over very high heat.  Sear the lamb chops on all sides, just a few seconds per side.
3. Place lamb chops in a vacuum sealer bag and seal.  Place in the water bath and cook 24 hours, up to 32 hours.
4. When ready to serve, heat the pita slices for 30 seconds in the microwave.  Divide the Feta and tomatoes between the pita.  Remove lamb from the water bath and pull the meat apart with your fingers or a fork.  Add to the pita.  Roll and serve!

It’s a little jarring at first to see shredded lamb that’s so bright pink and moist.  But one bight of this dish will make you forget every lamb sandwich you’ve ever eaten.  Rather than tough, dry meat that begs for the rehydrating action of mint jelly, this is lamb as it should be.

Full Disclosure: I got free stuff, but that doesn’t pay for my opinion.

Slow-roasted cherry tomatoes are really the star of this dish.  The French Laundry uses tomato confit in many of its preparations.  My method isn’t quite as intricate as theirs, but the intent is the same: to sweeten and intensify the flavor of the tomato.  The result is a delicious variation on your otherwise ordinary pasta night.  After baking the tomatoes, to really make them confit, store them in an airtight jar immersed in olive oil for later uses.

Makes: Special pasta night for 2
Total kitchen time: 1 hour (15 minutes working time)

Shopping list:

• 1/2 lb. cherry or grape tomatoes
• 4 oz. (about 2 cups) penne pasta
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted
• 1/4 cup green olives, pitted
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, cut into 1/2” cubes
• 1 tbsp. freshly chopped oregano
• ooks&fgbp

1. Rinse and pat dry the tomatoes.  Slice in half through the stem end.  In a small bowl, gently toss the tomatoes with about 1 tsp. kosher salt and enough good olive oil to coat.
2. Arrange the tomatoes in an even layer, cut side up, on a baking sheet.  Bake at 250°F for 1 hour.  This is a good time to use your toaster oven, if you’ve got one.
3. About 30 minutes into the tomato roasting, bring a very large pot of water to a boil.  Even if you’re only cooking for two, use at least a gallon of water if you can.  All the Italian chefs say we need to, though they may be in the pocket of Big Water.  Salt the water.
4. Cook the pasta to al-dente (10-12 minutes, check the package for directions) and drain well.  Toss together the pasta, feta, oregano and olives with a little more (good) olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Plate, and add the confit-ed tomatoes on top. 

For real tomato confit, Thomas Keller suggest that we blanch, peel, and seed the tomatoes before baking.  If you’ve got the extra time on your hands, please go ahead and report back.  I should be just about done with dinner by then!