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Fish with Black bean sauce

  • ½ lb tilapia cut into pieces and marinated with ½ tablespoon corn starch
  • 2 Tbsp black bean sauce
  • ½ onion, large dice
  • 1 red bell pepper, large dice
  • 2 stalk scallions (cut into 1.5 inch length)
  • 5 slices fresh ginger

Sauce

  • ¼ teaspoon fish sauce
  • ¾ teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
  • ½ tablespoon corn starch (mix with 6 tablespoons water)

Stir fry the ginger, onion and bell pepper in a wok. Add fish, stir fry until almost cooked. Add sauce, stir until thickened.

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Sous Vide Leg of Lamb

For the garlic-parsley paste

  • 2 heads of garlic
  • 2-4 tbsp minced parsley
  1. Cut top 1/3 off 2 heads of garlic. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil each and wrap tightly in foil. Bake at 400* for 40 minutes.
  2. In a small bowl, combine parsley and mashed roasted garlic.

For the Lamb

  • 5 – 7 pound boneless leg of lamb (~30 minutes)
  1. Unroll lamb. Following natural seams (delineated by lines of fat), separate into three smaller roasts, using sharp boning knife as needed.
  2. Trim visible fat and gristle from exterior of each roast. With small, pointed cuts, penetrate deeper to remove interior pockets of gristle, fat, and silver skin.
  3. Lightly score inside of each roast, making ¼-inch-deep cuts spaced1 inch apart in crosshatch pattern.
  4. Rub scored surface of brined lamb with garlic-parsley paste, working paste into grooves.
  5. Roll into compact roast, tucking in flaps, to form log shape. Tie with twine at 1-inch intervals.

Sous Vide

  • If 2 roasts: 133* for 4-5 hours
  • If 3 roasts: 133* for 3 hours
  • Sear for 1 minute on each side when done
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Cocktail (Coconut) Bun

The Bun

  • 2/3 cup heavy cream (at room temperature)
  • 1 cup, plus 1 tbsp milk (at room temperature)
  • 1 large egg (at room temperature)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • ½ cup cake flour
  • 3 ½ cups bread flour
  • 1 tbsp active dry yeast
  • 1 ½ tsp salt

The Filling

  • 6 tbsp softened butter
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar or superfine sugar
  • 3 tbsp cake flour
  • ¼ cup dry milk powder
  • ½ cup desiccated coconut
  1. Start by making the bread dough, and be sure your ingredients are at room temperature. In the bowl of a mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer at its lowest setting.
  2. Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to about 1.5X its original size.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by thoroughly combining all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
  4. After the bread dough has proofed for an hour, put the dough back in the mixer and knead slowly for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 16-18 equal pieces.
  5. Flatten each piece of dough with your hands into a rough oval shape, about 4 inches long and 3 inches wide. Spread about a tablespoon of filling onto the middle of the dough, and roll it into a cigar, tucking the ends under the bun to completely seal the filling in. We like this method because it evenly distributes the filling throughout the bun.
  6. Transfer the buns to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.
  7. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
  8. Once the buns have risen, brush with egg wash. Pipe two stripes of your topping mixture onto each bun, and sprinkle each with sesame seeds. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and brush with the sugar syrup.
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Mushroom Pesto

  • 150g porcini mushrooms (30g dried, 30mins in hot water)
  • 200g mushrooms, minced
  • 1.5 dl olive oil
  • ½ dl water
  • 100g grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 dl almond slivers, roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 pinches of freshly ground black pepper
  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the mushrooms on medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. Let cool.
  2. Toast almonds in pan lightly. 
  3. In a food processor, mix the mushrooms and olive oil from the pan with water, Parmesan, almonds and garlic to a smooth pesto. 
  4. Fold in the parsley and season with lemon juice, salt, pepper.
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Braised Chicken with Leeks and Saffron

  • 2 lbs bone-in, skinless chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half, drumsticks, and/or thighs), trimmed
  • 2 lbs potatos, parsnips, or carrots (or a mix), cut into 1.5″ pieces
  • 2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin, and rinsed thoroughly
  • ¼ tsp saffron threads
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • ½ cup white wine
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
  • ¼ cup minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the leeks, saffron, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, wine, thyme, and bay leaves, scraping up any browned bits.

3. Nestle the chicken and veggies, into the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and tender, about 20 minutes for the breasts (160 to 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), or 1 hour for the thighs and drumsticks (170 to 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). (If using both types of chicken, simmer the thighs and drumsticks for 40 minutes before adding the breasts.)

4. Transfer the chicken to a serving dish. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Return sauce to a simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly, 4 to 6 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve.

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Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 lemon
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces)
  • 1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal (preferably stoneground)
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon table salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries, preferably wild, rinsed and dried
  1. Whisk lemon juice, milk, and zest in medium bowl or large measuring cup; set aside to thicken while preparing other ingredients. Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to combine.
  2. Whisk egg and melted butter into milk until combined. Make well in center of dry ingredients in bowl; pour in milk mixture and whisk very gently until just combined (a few lumps should remain). Do not over mix.
  3. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes; add 1 teaspoon oil and brush to coat skillet bottom evenly. Pour ¼ cup batter onto 3 spots on skillet; sprinkle 1 tablespoon blueberries over each pancake. Cook pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Using thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and cook until golden brown on second side, 1 to 1 ½ minutes longer. Serve immediately, and repeat with remaining batter, using remaining vegetable oil only if necessary.