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Filet mignon and crunchy chickpea salad

Posted by Gary

Filet mignon and crunchy chickpea salad

Sous vide black pepper filet mignon
Ground black peppercorns Filet mignon and crunchy chickpea salad

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve cooked a steak. I picked up some eye filet steak this morning, thinking that I would cook it sous vide and have enough beef leftover for lunch meat during the week.

I wanted something crunchy like croutons for the salad, but rather than fried or toasted bread; I went with a crunchy chickpea salad. I got the idea from Bon Appétit.

Ingredients

  • Eye filet steak
  • Iodised salt
  • Black peppercorns
  • Chickpeas (tinned) for crunchy chickpeas
  • Olive oil
  • Lettuce
  • Fennel
  • Red onion
  • Cucumber
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Cracker Barrell Maple-infused cheddar cheese with toffee bites

Instructions

Steak

  1. Unwrap the steaks and tie them with cooking string to create steak rounds. Tieing the meat isn’t necessary, but it keeps the muscle bundle together and helps when searing the steak at the end.
  2. Season the steak rounds with a liberal amount of iodised salt.
  3. Vacuum pack the steaks and refrigerate for a few hours to permit the salt to penetrate the muscle.
  4. Heat the water in the water bath to 55 °C and then cook the meat at that temperature for two hours.
  5. At the end of the cooking time, remove the steak from the plastic bag and pat it dry with kitchen paper.
  6. Grind some pepper and salt in a mortar with a pestle. Grind enough so you can make a thick coating of pepper on the steak.
  7. Heat a cast-iron skillet to smoking hot.
  8. Add some high vapour point oil to the skillet and allow the oil to spread across the hot surface.
  9. Sear the steak using tongs to ensure all surfaces form a nice crust.
  10. While searing the steak, add in some butter and spoon melted butter over the steak.
  11. Allow the steak to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing it open with a sharp knife.

Crunchy Chickpea Salad

  1. Heat some olive oil over low heat in a non-stick skillet.
  2. Toss in some drained and rinsed chickpeas and sautée until the chickpeas become crunchy.
  3. Allow the crunchy chickpeas to cool on kitchen paper which will absorb the excess oil.
  4. Cut the vegetables for the salad and the cheese, and put them into a salad bowl.
  5. Season with some salt.
  6. Add in a good glug of extra virgin olive oil.
  7. Add in the crunchy chickpeas, which are now like croutons and toss your salad. Do not look up “tossed salad” in the urban dictionary.

Plating up

  1. Plate the salad onto the dinner plate.
  2. Dissect the steak round by cutting it in half to create two semi-circles of meat.
  3. Slice one half into thin slices and lay them out on the plate.
  4. Spoon the burnt butter from the cast-iron skillet over the cut surface of the steak.
  • Ground black peppercorns
  • Sous vide black pepper filet mignon
    Ground black peppercorns Filet mignon
  • Sous vide black pepper filet mignon
    Ground black peppercorns Filet mignon and crunchy chickpea salad
  • Sous vide black pepper filet mignon
    Ground black peppercorns Filet mignon and crunchy chickpea salad

Final thoughts

This dish was a nice simple steak meal with a heap of good mouthfeel.

  • Do you like steak and salad?
  • Do you like crunchy chickpeas?

Penne pasta “mac and cheese” with pesto

Posted by Gary

Penne pasta “mac and cheese” with pesto

I was inspired to make this meal after watching the YouTube channel “Sous vide everything” which featured pork belly with mac and cheese.

Rather than using macaroni, I went with penne ziti pasta because that’s what I had in my pantry.

Penne pasta and cheesy white sauce after the oven

Ingredients for mac and cheese

  • Penne pasta
  • Water
  • Iodised salt
  • Salted butter
  • Plain flour
  • Milk
  • Swiss cheese
  • Pecorino cheese
  • White pepper
  • Pork belly
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Garlic
  • Basil
  • Pine nuts

Instructions

  1. Cook the penne pasta according to the instructions on the packaging.
  2. Allow the penne pasta to cool in the refrigerator, so it develops resistant starch.
  3. In a food processor blend the garlic, salt, and olive oil and then slowly add the pine nuts, basil leaves, and pecorino cheese until it forms a smooth sauce.
  4. The pesto may benefit from some red wine vinegar to prevent the basil leaves from discolouring and turning black.
  5. The pesto will keep well in the refrigerator.
  6. Dry a manageable length of your pork belly strip by rubbing it vigorously with both hands with some paper towel. You can then oil your hands and rub your pork. Cook your piece of pork in an oven at 200 °C for 40 minutes, so the rind is crispy.
  7. Cut the cooked pork belly into cubes.
  8. In a saucier pan, melt some butter on a low heat and then whisk in an equal quantity of plain flour and cook for at least 3 minutes.
  9. Add cold milk to the roux and add enough to avoid the white sauce from clumping. You don’t want globby bits in your special white sauce.
  10. Start adding the swiss and pecorino cheeses in small amounts and stir through to create a thickened luscious sauce.
  11. Season the white sauce with white pepper. Your white sauce will taste better with a little spice in it. Spicy sauces are always better in your mouth.
  12. Add in the cold penne pasta, stir through, cook until the sauce penetrates deeply, and fills the hollow tubes of goodness.
  13. Transfer the pasta dropping in your special sauce to a baking sheet and top with a little more cheesy goodness. With a Microplane take your seed of nutmeg and generously grate it over the cheese augmented “mac and cheese”. 
  14. When the pork belly has finished cooking, remove your hot pork strip and insert your “mac and cheese” until the cheese bubbles and turns a lovely golden brown.
  15. After the “mac and cheese” has finished in the oven, remove it and allow it to rest for a few minutes until it stops wobbling when you give it a poke. The growing tumescence of your “mac and cheese” means your cheese has started to set and it will be easier to handle rather than being a floppy mess.
  16. With a large spoon, dissect and withdraw a good portion of “mac and cheese” and transfer to a plate. Add some pork belly and a spoonful of pesto. Garnish with the cherry tomatoes for the contrasting colour.
  • Penne pasta and cheesy white sauce before the oven
  • Penne pasta and cheesy white sauce after the oven
  • Penne pasta and cheesy white sauce (Mac and cheese) with pesto, pork belly, and cherry tomatoes.

Final thoughts on mac and cheese

I’ve ordered some food-grade sodium citrate on-line and will see if it helps make the cheesy white sauce any better.

According to Guga, the sodium citrate makes the cheesy white sauce smoother.

Prawn roll

Posted by Gary

Prawn roll

I had my heart set on a bug roll, that is, a Moreton Bay bug (slipper lobster) roll. I got to the seafood shop this morning, and there were no bugs, no lobsters either! There were prawns though, so I bought prawns for a prawn roll.

Prawn roll with wasabi mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño peppers, red chilli, and parsley served with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.

The motivation for this was again Lorraine Elliott who is better known as Not Quite Nigella. This week, Lorraine wrote about lobster rolls. 

Ingredients

  • Prawns (cooked and peeled)
  • Mayonnaise (I used Kewpie wasabi flavoured mayonnaise)
  • Pickled jalapeño peppers (chopped)
  • Red chilli (diced)
  • Bread roll (I bought a crusty baguette)
  • Butter (Lurpak spreadable)
  • Iodised salt
  • White pepper
  • Parsley (chopped)

Instructions

  1. In a bowl add some mayonnaise, the chopped jalapeño peppers, and chopped chilli. Mix with a fork and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Fold some chopped parsley into the spicy mayonnaise.
  3. Roughly cross-section cut the prawns and fold the prawn meat to the mayonnaise.
  4. Make a midline longitudinal incision along the baguette’s ventral surface and spread the two flaps apart with your thumbs to open the incision.
  5. Spread a nudge of butter on the incision surfaces of the baguette.
  6. Spread a little butter on the outside of the baguette.
  7. Toast the lateral surfaces of the baguette in a sandwich press.
  8. If you’ve added too much butter to the incision surfaces, some melted butter will bleed from the incision. The question I have for you though is, is there such a thing as too much butter?
  9. Once the baguette’s outer lateral surfaces are toasted, remove it and gently open the incision and spoon the prawns coated in spicy mayonnaise into the baguette’s buttery incision.
  10. Serve the prawn roll with a side salad of shredded lettuce, sliced cucumber, and halved cherry tomatoes.
  • King prawns
  • King prawns
  • Chopped pickled jalapeño peppers and diced red chilli.
  • Wasabi mayonnaise
  • Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers and Chilli
  • Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers, Chilli, and prawns.
  • Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers, Chilli, prawns and parsley..
  • Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers, Chilli, prawns and parsley..
  • Baguette
  • Incised Baguette
  • Buttered Baguette
  • Buttered Baguette
  • Buttered Baguette
  • Toasted buttered baguette
  • Prawn roll with wasabi mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño peppers, red chilli, and parsley served with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.
  • Prawn roll with wasabi mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño peppers, red chilli, and parsley served with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.

Final thoughts

I am a little disappointed I couldn’t get a Moreton Bay bug today; however, the prawns were a reasonable substitute.

The spicy mayonnaise complemented the prawns nicely, and the warm buttery baguette provided great contrasting mouthfeel. As far as rolls go, this prawn roll was pretty good.

What would you prefer? Lobster? Bug? Prawns?

Postscript

After chopping and dicing the pickled jalapeño peppers and chilli, I had to attend the water closet.

Without going into any inappropriate detail, I will be buying disposable gloves to wear on my hands for when I chop and dice pickled jalapeño peppers and chilli. This experience took the shine off, enjoying eating the prawn roll.

Chickpea Jalapeño potato salad

Posted by Gary

Chickpea Jalapeño potato salad

Potato, Chickpeas, White onion, Chilli, Pickled jalapeño peppers, Spring onion, with wasabi mayonnaise and king prawns. I also added some Cracker Barrell maple-infused cheddar with toffee bites!

Lorraine Elliott, who is also known as Not Quite Nigella inspired this meal. This is her recipe with a few additions from me.

Ingredients

  • Potatoes
  • Kewpie wasabi mayonnaise
  • White onion
  • Pickled sliced jalapeño peppers
  • Chilli
  • Tinned chickpeas
  • Spring onion
  • Iodised salt
  • Whole black peppercorns

Instructions

  1. Boil the spuds until you can use a long sharp tool and penetrate the skin and flesh easily with no resistance.
  2. Remove the boiled spuds from the water and refrigerate overnight to permit the formation of resistant starch.
  3. Smile knowing my microbiota will be grateful (if bacteria were sentient).
  4. The next night, cut the cold boiled spuds into bite-sized pieces with a sharp knife.
  5. Put the spuds into a large mixing bowl and then squirt in some Kewpie Wasabi mayonnaise and a small handful of pickled sliced jalapeño peppers.
  6. Finely dice a white onion and add the chopped onion to the mixing bowl.
  7. Finely slice the spring onion and add the spring onion to the mixing bowl.
  8. Add in the tin of chickpeas because legumes are also useful for my microbiota.
  9. Gently mix everything to avoid disintegrating the spuds.
  10. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix.
  11. Peel the shells from the prawns and undertake a colectomy to remove the alimentary canal.
  12. Transfer everything to a serving bowl and garnish with some peeled prawns.
  13. Grab a fork, take the bowl, sit in front of the TV, and watch a movie while enjoying the potato salad.

What movie did I watch?

I watched one of my favourite movies, viz., Chariots of Fire. I love the story of Eric Liddell and how he put God and principles before King and country.

  • Potatoes Pickled jalapeños
  • Potato, Chickpeas, White onion, Chilli, Pickled jalapeño peppers
  • Potato, Chickpeas, White onion, Chilli, Pickled jalapeño peppers, and Spring onion.
  • Potato, Chickpeas, White onion, Chilli, Pickled jalapeño peppers, and Spring onion.
  • Potato, Chickpeas, White onion, Chilli, Pickled jalapeño peppers, Spring onion, and wasabi mayonnaise
  • Potato, Chickpeas, White onion, Chilli, Pickled jalapeño peppers, Spring onion, and wasabi mayonnaise
  • King prawns
  • King prawns
  • Potato, Chickpeas, White onion, Chilli, Pickled jalapeño peppers, Spring onion, with wasabi mayonnaise and king prawns.
  • Potato, Chickpeas, White onion, Chilli, Pickled jalapeño peppers, Spring onion, with wasabi mayonnaise and king prawns.
  • Potato, Chickpeas, White onion, Chilli, Pickled jalapeño peppers, Spring onion, with wasabi mayonnaise and king prawns.

What’s all the microbiota talk?

Readers who know me know that I like listening to books. I’m not much of a reader of books, but I’ll happily listen to a book. 

I’m a fan of the Audible app and buying audible books from Amazon. To get more users, Audible has provided some free books to get people in.

One of the recent free offerings has been a 10 episode podcast by Dr Joanna McMillan. Joanna is a nutrition scientist and a practising nutritionist. Check her out at her website.

I think some people assume that we learn everything we need to know in medical school about nutrition. Given I went through medical school from 1983 to 1989 (yes that’s seven years, I did an extra degree during the course) it’s no surprise I’m a bit behind. My interest in our microbiota has been in the context of pathology and infection. It’s only recently, as I’ve endeavoured to improve my health that I’m thinking more about my microbiota.

If you’re interested in gut health, I reckon you’ll enjoy listening to Joanna. Her Scottish accent also helps!

Resistant starch

One topic that Joanna bangs on about is resistant starch. For a good synopsis of resistant starch, you cannot only listen to Joanna, but you can read about it on the CSIRO website.

You’ll see more legumes and raw oats in my Instagram feed in the future.

Potatoes and rice are useful sources of resistant starch if you cook them and then allow them to cool before eating them. That’s why I cooked the spuds yesterday and then refrigerated the potatoes.

How was the potato salad?

It was good. It certainly had a big kick to it with the jalapeño peppers, wasabi mayonnaise, and the red chilli. I split it in half and will finish it off tomorrow night. 

Chilli garlic prawns and rice

Posted by Gary

Chilli garlic prawns and rice

I did a linguine and garlic prawns a few weeks ago. Tonight, I thought I’d do something with an Asian bent.

Stir-fried Garlic, Ginger, Chilli, and Prawns with white rice.

Ingredients

  • Raw prawns (large banana prawns)
  • Tomato sauce
  • Soy sauce
  • Sweet chilli sauce
  • Garlic (sliced with a mandolin)
  • Ginger (grated)
  • Chilli flakes
  • Chilli (cut in strips)
  • Spring onion
  • White onion
  • Whole black peppercorns (freshly ground)
  • Rice
  • Broccoli florets

Instructions

  1. Marinate the raw prawns (with the shell on) in a bowl of tomato sauce, sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and chilli flakes.
  2. Leave the prawns in the marinade in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
  3. Cook the rice however you please.
  4. Heat a wok until it’s smoking hot.
  5. Add in some high vapour point oil, e.g., Queensland nut oil.
  6. Fry off some garlic, ginger, spring onions and white onions and then add in the prawns and marinade.
  7. Cook the prawns by stir-frying them until they turn red. 
  8. Add in the broccoli florets and mix everything until the broccoli florets soften a little.
  9. Serve in a bowl and eat with the rice using chopsticks.
  10. Some people will want to eat the prawns by sucking them off and then breaking the head off and sucking its head. The next step is peeling the prawns and eating the chilli-flavoured hot flesh. 
  11. I do it differently; I hold the prawn with my chopsticks and suck the juice off it and then eat the whole prawn, including the shell, head, and legs.
  12. If I was cooking this for someone else, I would peel the prawns and remove the alimentary canal first because I know most people would prefer it that way.

Final thoughts

How do you eat prawns?

  • Fresh ginger and garlic
  • Chilli Ginger Garlic Marinade
  • Raw Large Tiger Prawns
  • Raw Large Tiger Prawns in Chilli Ginger Garlic Marinade
  • Raw Large Tiger Prawns in Chilli Ginger Garlic Marinade
  • Spring onions White onion Chilli
  • Stir-frying Garlic, Ginger, Chilli, and Prawns in a wok.
  • Stir-fried Garlic, Ginger, Chilli, and Prawns with white rice.
  • Stir-fried Garlic, Ginger, Chilli, and Prawns with white rice.
  • Stir-fried Garlic, Ginger, Chilli, and Prawns with white rice.