The Infamous Sous Vide Egg

 One thing you should know about me is that I love a good kitchen gadget. When a chef friend of mine told me that I had to have one of the new stick style sous vide machines that were on the market now, who was I to argue. I live in a small community where sometimes you have to acquire specialized items like this by mail order. So mail order it is. When my sous vide arrived in the mail, it was like Christmas. I couldn't wait to sous vide something...anything. With a little research on the internet of what the beginner should sous vide first, the glorious egg kept popping up.

So....eggs it is. The reason why sous vide eggs are so fantastic is that they sort of cook opposite of soft boiled eggs. The yolk sets first and then the white follows. This way you can get a creamy, custardy egg yolk with a softly set white. This makes for a lovely egg to put on pretty much anything and it serves as a sauce or dip of sorts.

 This trio of recipes starts with a simple but delicious side dish of roasted prosciutto wrapped asparagus topped with a sous vide egg broken open on top to create a luxurious sauce. It continues with a unctuous slow cooked and then seared pork belly with a sous vide egg to dip in. Then finishes off with a spectacular signature dish of seared halibut, creamy and buttery cauliflower mash topped with a sous egg and chive butter sauce. Oh, and no fancy signature dish is complete without a signature cocktail. We decided on an elegant pear and thyme mimosa. I've been told that mimosa's are a traditional pairing for gourmet egg dishes.

Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus with Sous Vide Egg

Braised, Crispy Pork Belly with Sous Vide Egg

Seared Halibut with Cauliflower Mash, Sous Vide Egg and Chive Butter Sauce

Pear and Thyme Mimosa

Sous Vide Egg

Set up Sous Vide Immersion Circulator according to directions. Set temperate to 175 F. When water reaches desired temperature, gently lower eggs, straight out of the refrigerator, into the pot with a slotted spoon. Time eggs for exactly 13 minutes. When time has expired, remove eggs to a cold water bath to stop the cooking The yolk will be creamy and luscious and the white barely set. I like this time and temperate for the sous vide eggs because the egg white sets firmer than a traditional 63 degree C egg that chefs worldwide seem to enjoy. The white is not set enough for my taste. You can play around with the time and temperate for your "perfect" sous vide egg.

Soft Boiled Eggs

For those of you that don't have a Sous Vide Circulator but would still like to try these dishes

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Lower eggs into boiling water gently and set timer for 6 1/2 minutes. When time has expired, remove eggs to a cold water bath to stop cooking. The egg yolks should be soft and creamy and the whites fully set.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus with Sous Vide Egg

10 Asparagus Spears, dry ends snapped off

5 Prosciutto slices, cut in half lengthwise

1 Sous Vide Egg

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wrap prosciutto in a spiral around the asparagus, leaving the top end exposed. Place on an baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until prosciutto is crispy. Transfer to a warm plate and top with sous vide egg. Pierce egg immediately before serving.

Braised, Crispy Pork Belly

1 lb slab of Pork Belly, no skin
1/2 cup Tamari
1 cup White Wine
4 slices Ginger
1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
2 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Chinese 5 Spice Powder
1 Clove Garlic, crushed
Pinch of Chili Flakes
Water

In a heavy pot or Dutch oven, sear pork belly on all sides. Add all ingredients from tamari to chili flakes and add enough water to barely submerge the pork belly. Braise for 2 hours or until tender. Cool completely and refrigerate overnight. Slice pork belly when cold and place back in the pot on the stove and simmer on low until ready to use. When ready to use, remove from pot and pat dry. In a hot pan, sear pork belly on each side for a few seconds until crispy. Serve alongside sous vide egg for dipping.

Seared Halibut with Cauliflower Mash, Sous Vide Egg and Chive Butter Sauce

Cauliflower Mash

2 cups frozen Cauliflower Florets

2 Tbsp Ghee

Salt & White Pepper to taste

Place frozen florets in a bowl and microwave on high until very soft but not dry. Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree cauliflower until smooth. Add ghee, salt and pepper and stir. Set aside.

Seared Halibut

2, 4 oz. pieces of fresh Halibut

1Tbsp Ghee

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Preheat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add ghee and oil and let ghee melt. Then add halibut, presentation side down. Sear for 2-3 mins, according to thickness. Flip and continue searing for 1 to 2 mins, basting the fish with the fat for the last minute. It is very easy to overcook fish and you should keep a close eye on the fish as it cooks to determine the perfect doneness for the thickness of your fish.

Chive Butter Sauce

1/4 cup White Wine

1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar

1/4 cup Coconut Cream (solid part on top of can of coconut milk)

1/3 cup Ghee

1 small Shallot, diced

1 clove Garlic, minced

1 Tbsp Chives, chopped

Sprig of Thyme

Salt

Preheat saucepan on medium high heat. Add wine, vinegar, shallot, garlic and thyme. Reduce by half until thicker and syrupy. Lower heat to medium. Whisk in coconut cream then ghee, a little at time so that it emulsifies in the sauce. If your heat is too high, the sauce will break or curdle. Season with salt to taste. Pass sauce through a fine sieve to remove solids. Add chives.

To Assemble Dish

On a warm plate, add your cauliflower mash, drizzle around the edge with chive butter sauce. Place 4 or 5 leaves of fresh spinach on the mash, place halibut on spinach. Release egg from its shell and place gently on top of halibut. Garnish with a few pea shoots and a little drizzle of  the chive butter sauce. Break open the egg and devour with gusto.

Makes 2 Servings

Pear and Thyme Mimosa

1 ripe Pear, peeled, cored and diced

1/4 cup Water

7 Sprigs of Thyme

1 piccolo of Sparkling Wine (small bottle)

In a blender, place pear and water. Puree until smooth. Place 5 of the thyme sprigs into a glass and pour over pear puree. Place in the fridge to infuse for 30 mins or so. Place 2 Tbsp pear puree (without thyme sprigs) into two champagne flutes, carefully add champagne to top of glass a little at a time. Garnish each glass with a thyme sprig. You can also make this cocktail with half white wine and sparkling water in place of the champagne or all sparkling water for an non-alcoholic version.

Makes 2 cocktails