I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

May 27, 2013

Pomegranate Lamb with Autumn Salad and more Kitchen Experiments



Autumn is a lovely time of year

Light is mellow, colours are softer, the leaves burnish and brown creating a carpet of crispness that crunches underfoot. Smoke hangs in the air, not the oily burnt smokiness of BBQs, but a heavier blanket that laps around you each morning and evening as wood fires signal warmth and comfort around the hearth.

Even Autumn produce is mellow
Golden pumpkins, sweet and deep in flavour; pomegranates with their ruby glow and hidden tang; and walnuts brown as dry leaves, rich with oil and hidden goodness stored within for Winter's barren times

That's what inspired this weeks dish


I also added the sweetness of lamb, the creaminess of goat cheese, and a new cooking technique by trialling my Sous Vide machine for the first time.

Remember my Pressure Cooker experiment where I did a side by side comparison of three cooking styles to see which would provide the best results? http://intolerantchef.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/kitchen-experiments.html  Well, this is kinda the same, but instead using Sous Vide and the more usual method of first searing, then using the oven to finish the lamb cooking through.


Sous Vide is a very gentle, low heat method of cooking, where the ingredients are first vacuum sealed under pressure, then cooked in a water bath at a very controlled temperature for a period of time.
Basically the food is cooked at the temperature at which you wish it to be served.
So to have my lamb at medium, it should reach an internal temperature of 60*C, so by cooking it at 60*C there's no way I can overheat my lamb, meaning that it will be perfectly cooked each and every time.
To temper these results, and in case your family didn't give you a sous vide machine for your birthday like mine did, I've also cooked the same amount of meat the conventional way using nothing more than a good old fry pan and finishing it in the oven. The method is up to you, but I promise you the flavour will still be delicious!


Two little racks of lamb cutlets, three per side. Just one larger rack cut in half, to make it a totally fair comparison





My marinade today is made up of pomegranate molasses and the most amazing pomegranate balsamic that you have ever tasted indeed. If you don't happen to have any of this on hand, use some reduced pomegranate juice and plain balsamic and a just touch of sugar so it's not too tart





I placed each half rack in it's own pouch and brushed a tablespoon of the pomegranate molasses and 2 teaspoons of pomegranate balsamic onto each





Vacuum and seal the pouches, leaving the meat to marinate for an hour or so, or until you're ready to use them





Pop one of the little pouches into the sous vide machine at for an hour and a half once it hits temperature of 60*C . Put the lid on, and make the salad while you wait for it to cook through





Once it's ready, pull the pouch out of the water with tongs and let it cool enough to hold. See how the meat has changed colour from creamy to opaque and the texture is softer looking





Remove the meat from the pouch- but don't waste all those yummy juicy bits, we'll use them to make the dressing for the salad
The meat is lovely and soft to touch, just a bit springy the way it should be; but the meat is only coloured because of the dark marinade, otherwise it would look rather unfinished





To make the rack look pretty and also to give it the complexity of caramelisation, sear it off in a fry pan on medium heat- just be careful as the marinade had a lot of sugar in it and that can burn very quickly indeed. The meat is fully cooked remember, you just want to burnish it up for presentation





Once off the heat, slice the rack into cutlets and lets see what's happened inside:
Perfect even colour throughout and the meat is soft and juicy. The fat isn't rendered out, but it has a nice jellied sort of texture that's OK and it certainly tastes cooked properly





Now for the other rack:
Once you've marinated it for a while, remove it from the pouch and sear it off over fairly high heat to caramelise and look pretty too, then pop it into a hot oven at about 220*C for 12-15 minutes to finish off cooking through





Let it rest, then slice into cutlets and to see what's going on inside here:
Hmmm... overcooked for sure, and not rested enough either. The meat is still fairly soft as it's a nice cut of meat, so I guess I'm lucky this time





See the difference between the two styles of meat:
*The sous vide is perfectly even throughout/ the other one varies depending where actual heat was applied
*The sous vide has kept it's shape perfectly making for a very tidy effect/ the other is a bit scruffy looking in comparison
*The meat that was sous vide cuts like butter, so soft and smooth indeed that you'd hardly even need to chew- all the fibres of the meat seem to have disappeared somehow. The meat is also lovely and moist and very tasty with a clean flavour of lamb coming through the marinade/ the other meat is still fairly soft and moist but chewing is certainly required here, and you can feel the springiness of the meat fibres as you eat
*The bones on the the sous vide cutlets are nice and clean, allowing diners to pick them up tidily if they want to nibble/ the other bones are dark and sticky, you could pick them up but cleaning your fingers elegantly would require a finger bowl




For the sauce, add all the reserved juiciness from the pouch/meat juices from the pan, back into your fry pan along with a nice sprig of crumpled mint and about 1/4 cup of water and allow to quickly reduce to a nice sweet sauce. Watch the sugars don't burn, and pull the mint out once you're done





Plate up your Autumn Salad, and sprinkle on a few extra pomegranate bits to look pretty.

IFirst I cubed some pumpkin, tossed it in oil and seasoning, then baked it at 220*C until it was cooked through with some nice dark edges. I tossed in a good handful of walnuts just before bringing out the pumpkin so that they would toast through and get a good crunch and release a deeper, richer flavour, then let them cool to room temperature.
Over a bed of baby spinach and rocket leaves I sprinkled some finely torn mint leaves for freshness and zing, then crumbled over some creamy goats feta and lots of yummy pomegranate seeds for that gorgeous pop of juice and flavour to tie it all together nicely. Add in the nuts and pumpkin, and you've got a gorgeous salad that tastes great on it's own, but still works as a perfect side dish for our pomegranate lamb cutlets





Pop the cutlets to the side of the salad, then drizzle the meat and salad with the reduced sauce and garnish with another sprig of mint- Yummo!

This dish really makes me think of Autumn- earthy with the nuts and pumpkin but still some freshness of the mint and fruit, deeper notes of tang and goat cheese and the rich flavour of lamb to complement it all




So what do I think of my Sous Vide machine Dear Readers?

 I was really surprised how the lamb turned out- so buttery and soft. It was great to know I could get consistent product if I was cooking for a few people at once instead of 'guestimating' the cooking times. It was also nice to know I could pre-prepare the meat ahead of time and then just sear it off quickly if was in a hurry. I might not use this method for everyday cooking, but I don't think this machine will gather too much dust either!

So Dear Readers, what do you think of Sous Vide cooking, and what cooking method do you prefer?



24 comments:

  1. What a great food combination, lamb and goats cheese is a great pairing. The comparison between the lamb from the sous vide vs regular cooking was so surprising!

    ...I am hungry all over again, it all looks so fresh and delicious :)

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    1. Thanks Julie, I was quite surprised too! The meat looks quite rare, but it really isn't. I love a nice fresh meal like this with lots of flavours going on :)

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  2. Wow! Lovely combo.. Thanks for sharing.. I'm a new blogger... Do visit my blog.. http://kitchenserenity.blogspot.in/

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  3. Pomegranates are so bloody expensive at the moment. WOuld love to cook with them one day.. and this recipe looks delicious!

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    1. Msihua, I agree they are very expensive. I went to my not so local vietnamese market and they were $2.99 kilo. The lady that I spoke to there said that Vietnam was full of the trees that the locals dont like them. Try looking at the vietnamese markets.

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    2. Thanks MsIhua!The price varies so much doesn't it? I've just planted my own little tree, but I think I've got a few years of buying them yet :)

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  4. I'm so envious of your sous vide. That lamb looks so delicious and it's such a beautiful colour. I must look out for those pomegranate ingredients - not something I can get in my local supermarket for sure. A sous vide is definitely on my wish list xx

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    1. I'm on my second machine now though Charlie, I only used it twice before it conked out. I haven't got a good track record with Sunbeam products :(
      Try to get the pomegranate molasses at delis or a middle eastern/indian grocer maybe? Good luck :) xox

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  5. Nice. I make a salad just like that, goes beautifully with lamb. I love the idea of the sous vide, Bec.

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    1. The sweet flavours go so well with the sweetness of the lamb don't they Lizzy. It's certainly fun to try something new like this machine :)

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  6. my oh my - what a beautiful use for pomegranates!

    ps - isnt Autumn just delightful in Canberra!!!!

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    1. Thanks Lisa! Canberra is beautiful in Spring, Summer and Autumn..it's just Winter I struggle with. The clear blue diamond days are gorgeous, but it still seems so bleak :(

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  7. The sous vide looks like a really interesting way of cooking. I have to admit that I don't really "get" the fruit pomegranite. I love the juice, but the fruit itself strikes me as too much effort for so little reward.

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    1. I think a lot of the fruits nowadays have been bred so the seeds can be eaten without breaking any teeth Ista. I remember the first time I had pomegranate from my grandfathers garden I thought it was horrible- so tart and astringent and spitty! Now they are sweet, plump and soft. Otherwise, just buy the juice, it's delicious :)

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  8. I want a sous vide so badly!! It all looks wonderful.

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    1. This one is good Maureen, in that you can use it for a slow cooker as well so it's not just another now-and-then-gadget taking up room. But my first one only lasted two goes, so we'll see how well this next one lasts....

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  9. Becca, what an interesting experiment! The SV lamb looks very tender...

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    1. Like butter Celia! When we bought my FIL a wagu steak, he hated it so much because he didn't have to chew very much and he thought it was flavourless. He's used to blade and t bones cooked until dry, gray and tough-as-leather. He would HATE the sous vide meat indeed! xox

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  10. Great minds think alike! I have a few lovely red pomegranates in my fruit bowl ready to be sprinkled all over our salads. I have been making the classic Turkish salad and add the ruby gems on top.

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    1. They add such a nice crunch and shot of sweetness, don't they Simcha? Yummo!

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  11. Wow...I love the flavors going on here. I must look for pomegranate molasses and balsamic - sounds scrumptious!

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    1. I hope you can find them over there Ina, try middle eastern shops or delis. Caramelised balsamic are very 'in' right now, and I have a collection of about a dozen or so :)Good luck!

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  12. Lamb never looked that pretty and pick and juicy and yummy !
    Outstanding recipe, darling. Loved it :)

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