Guest chef Jessica enjoys the fruits of her labor.
The new Modernist Cuisine cookbooks feature almost no protein that’s not cooked sous vide, but Chef Jessica Entzel of Gordon Ramsey (Wolfgang Puck, Jean Georges, etc) knows that it’s perfect for so much more. This woman is the genuine article of chefiness. When asked what techniques she uses to chop like the wind she responds, “it just came from practice and entering competitions when I was going to school.” It’s the most modest and mystical answer from a veteran of the field I’ve ever gotten.
Chef Jessica works in pastry and loves playing with the sensation of sweet. On a bright Wednesday afternoon she put together a three course sweet and savory meal with our sous vide machine.
Sweet and Savory Beets:
- 2 Golden beets
- 2 Striped candy beets
- 2 Sprigs of rosemary
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup of honey goat cheese
- A handful of walnuts
- Balsamic vinegar
Chop rosemary finely.
Suck the air from the beet bag if you are feeling sassy.
She chooses to sous vide beets whole so that they would develop the other-worldly sweet notes from the earthiness of their skin. We vacuum seal them in a bag with finely chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper and put them in the water bath at 80°C for 90 minutes.
Quarter the beets.
Jessica clings in vain to tableware.
The skins slides right off the beets and Chef Jessica quarters them. She also quarters the goat cheese to an equal size.
After some tomfoolery it’s time to plate!
As fun as it was to watch a skilled hand control the aesthetics of a plate, it was exponentially better to eat the meal. It’s amazing how the beets came out so vivid and al dente. The strong texture of the beets were tamed by the silkiness of the goat cheese while the honey inside the cheese coaxed out all of the beautiful sweet. The walnuts filled our mouths with another perspective of fat and crunch while the balsamic vinegar invigorated the tongue from all of the luxury. Mmmmm, it was, sofa king delicious.
this looks awesome! Quick question – where does one buy honey goat cheese? Would I just buy normal goat cheese and glaze with honey?
I got my honey goat cheese from Chelsea market. You could definitely just add a tad of honey to your plain chevre and it would be delicious!
Hey Lisa!
Love your blog, I didn’t even know that you had one. Please put your stuff up on food gawker! Will let people everywhere see your beautiful food!
Our photos were rejected for being poorly lit and too tightly cropped. Boooo!