Here is a recipe for my first attempt with wolffish in the water bath, and I am sure it won’t be the last time.
Recipe for wolffish sous vide
Fish cooked sous vide is just one of life’s pleasures. Here is a recipe for my first attempt with catfish in the water bath, and I am sure it won’t be the last time.
The fillet was (as always) gourmet salted beforehand, and the ends were used to make fish nuggets for my 4-year-old daughter Karen.
I love being at marketplaces, so the family typically heads out every Saturday morning. Besides the fact that the kids always get a warm fishcake in their hands, there is always time to talk to the vendors about their produce, what’s in season, and how they recommend preparing it.
This Saturday, I brought home chestnuts, kale, and Jerusalem artichokes, so most of this dish is influenced by the local ingredients from there.
Servings: people
Wolffish sous vide
Here is a recipe for my first attempt with wolffish in the water bath, and I am sure it won’t be the last time.
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Deciliter Measure
- Cutting Board
- Pre-Slicing Knife
- Sous Vide
- Potato Peeler
- Chef'S Knife
- Bowl
- Pot
- Blender (Option 1)
- Immersion Hand Blender (Option 2)
- Deep fryer
- Mandoline Slicer
- Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 400 gram Catfish Fillet
Pure
- 350 gram Jerusalem Artichokes
- 150 gram Celery
- 150 gram Cream approximately
- 300 gram Whole Milk approximately
- 10 gram Butter
- Salt and Pepper
Sides
- 150 gram Jerusalem Artichokes
- Salt
- 250 gram Kale
- 10 gram Butter
- Salt and Pepper
Kale
- 200 gram Kale
- Salt for boiling
- Butter
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
Wolffish sous vide
- Start by removing the bones unless you were as lucky as I was when my local fishmonger did it for me.
- When I cook fish in general, I always begin with a gourmet salting, where coarse salt is sprinkled on both sides of the fish. Then I let it sit for 10 minutes and rinse off the salt with cold water directly under the tap. The salting helps to draw a little moisture out of the fish and make the flesh firmer. I also generally find it difficult to season fish with salt, so this method kills two birds with one stone.
- Divide the fillet into 2 pieces.
- Dry the meat well with a clean tea towel/kitchen paper and vacuum seal it.
- Cook the meat for 30 minutes at 51 degrees Celsius (124 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Take the pieces of fish out of the bag (very carefully, as they are very fragile) and place them on a clean tea towel/kitchen paper. Pat dry on the top if necessary and serve immediately - preferably on a warmed plate.
Puré
- Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and cut them into smaller pieces. Put them in a bowl with cold water and a little lemon juice until you are ready to cook them.
- I spontaneously decided to use some of my Jerusalem artichokes for chips, so I felt I lacked a bit for the purée. That's why I cut 1/3 of a celeriac into small pieces and added them to the purée. Put the Jerusalem artichokes and celeriac in a pot with whole milk and cream. I typically use either 1/3 water, 1/3 whole milk, 1/3 cream or 1/3 cream, 2/3 whole milk to cook them tender. This time, I used the latter.
- Cook them until tender, which takes about 15-20 minutes, depending on how small the pieces are. Stir the pot regularly, so it doesn't burn.
- Once they are tender, remove all the pieces from the milk/cream mixture and put them into a blender or a hand blender glass. It's okay if a little liquid comes along.
- Blend the mixture smooth and add butter and blend again. Gradually add 1/3 dl of the milk/cream mixture if you think it’s too thick. Continue until it has a nice consistency and season with salt and pepper.
- Put it in a new pot and keep it warm if you are not ready to eat.
Jerusalem Artichoke Chips
- Heat your deep fryer to 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) or put neutral-flavored oil in a pot and heat it up. Keep an eye on the oil temperature; it should be 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Slice them thinly, preferably on a mandolin (watch your fingers, speaking from bitter experience - that's why I always use a cutting glove nowadays). Avoid using the ends if you like; put them in the purée pot to avoid food waste.
- Place them in water with lemon juice until you (and the oil) are ready. Dry them well before frying.
- Put them in the hot oil. A trick is to take them out when they stop sizzling because they shouldn’t take on color. Place them on oil-absorbing paper and season with salt. When they cool down, they become crispy. Be careful not to put too many in at once as it significantly lowers the temperature.
Kale
- Rinse the leaves and tear them from the stems.
- Bring salted water to a boil and cook the kale for 2 minutes.
- After the two minutes, remove them from the pot and place them in ice-cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Take them out of the water and place them in a clean tea towel to dry well.
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat (11 out of 14 on my stove) and melt the butter. Add the kale to the pan and give it 1-2 minutes to get a little warm and absorb some flavor. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
- Serve everything together and ideally with something pickled, such as pickled Jerusalem artichokes.