Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup

Sous Vide Details: Cook Chicken at 142ºF for 2 hours

Ingredients, Serves 2-4:

• 1 skinless chicken breast
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 13oz can of unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 red pepper, seeds removed and thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (use your favorite mushrooms)
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup small diced celery
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, smashed and halved (3" length)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1/3 cup chopped Thai basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 fresh lime
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVO)
• 1-3 tablespoons chopped Thai peppers (depending on how spicy you want it)
• Salt and pepper for taste

I LOVE Thai food and Thai soup is a special treat.  So I decided to try to re-produce a Thai chicken coconut soup that I always get from my local favorite Thai restaurant.  The key to Thai soup is the delicate flavor.

First we want to get the chicken cooked and what better way than to sous vide the chicken.  Sous vide chicken is incredible!  Pre-heat water bath to 142ºF.  Take the chicken breast and lightly salt and pepper.  Place in plastic bag and seal.  Place in water bath and cook for 2 hours.

A half an hour before the chicken is done, you can start on the soup.  In a large pot, heat the EVO on medium high heat.  Add the garlic and ginger and stir until their aroma is released.  Add the mushrooms and cook until soft.  Add the lemongrass, red peppers, celery and carrots and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the Thai peppers and cook for 1 minute.  Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar and turn heat down to a simmer.  Simmer for 10 minutes.

When the chicken is done, remove from the water bath and bag and cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. Add the chicken and chopped Thai basil to the soup and cook for 3-5 minutes to infuse flavor.  Finally squeeze the lime juice into the soup.  Ladle the soup into bowls and top with cilantro and scallions.  Enjoy!

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French Onion Soup

Ingredients, Serves 8:

• 5 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced cross grain thinly
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 56 oz of beef broth
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
• 1 cup Gruyere or Jarlsberg cheese, shredded
• 8 slices French baguette

I love French onion soup!  There's something about the savory onions and the melted cheese over the French baguette.  It's irresistible!  Making it from scratch just makes it all the more enjoyable!

To start, peel onions and slice 1/8 inch thick, cross grain. Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions, lower heat and cook, covered, over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.  This gently caramelizes the onions and gives them their sweet, lovely texture.

Stir in the pepper, thyme, paprika, salt and bay leaf and saute over low heat 10 more minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the beef broth and wine and increase heat until boiling.  Add the flour and stir to integrate.  Reduce heat and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Turn broiler on to pre-heat.  Set up oven proof ramekins on a baking sheet and spoon in the onion soup until about 3/4 full.  Add the French baguette slice and top with generous amount of shredded Swiss and Gruyere cheese.  Put baking sheet into oven and cook until cheese is golden brown on top, about 3-4 minutes.

Remove and using oven mitts, place hot ramekins on a plate and serve!

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Octopus in Butternut Squash Soup with Artichoke Hearts and Pearl Onions

Sous Vide Details: Cook Octopus at 185F for 5 hours

Ingredients, Serves 2:

• 1/2 lb octopus legs (sushi grade if possible)
• 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 cup pearl onions
• 3 artichoke hearts cut in half
• 2 tablespoons grape seed oil
• Butternut squash soup:
• 1 butternut squash, skin removed and cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Special tool: hand blender

I've always loved seafood and especially the Molluscs family, including oysters, clams, snails, squid and octopus!  Usually you can see me at a Japanese restaurant with some or all of these in sushi form at my table.  I especially like sushi octopus!  But I decided to try sous vide octopus after seeing a recipe from Jen at TinyUrbanKitchen.com, a great foodie blog!  I decided to use artichoke hearts, which my wife loves instead of hearts of palm and since I didn't have cippolini onions handy at the time, I opted for pearl onions.

In order to eliminate the "rubbery" texture of sushi octopus, you need to cook the octopus for at least 5 hours at 185F.  Lightly salt and peppered the octopus and put it into a bag.  Add the sesame seed oil and soy sauce and vacuum seal the bag.  Pre-heat the water bath to 185F and drop the octopus in and cook for 5 hours.

Heat a pot of water until boiling and add the pearl onions.  Cook for 1 minute and remove and strain.  Place the onions in an ice bath to cool them.  Cut off the root top and peel the out skin off so you are left with the inner onion cores.  Set aside.

An hour before the octopus is done, start the butternut squash soup.  Heat the EVO in a large pot on medium high heat.  Add onions and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes.  Add the squash and chicken broth and cook for 20-30 minutes until the squash is soft.  Using the hand blender, puree into a soup. Add the maple syrup and salt and pepper to taste.  Keep warm.

When the octopus is done, heat the grape seed oil in a cast iron skillet on medium high heat until hot.  Remove the octopus from the water bath and bag and remove the red skin which should come right off.  Sear the octopus, artichoke halves and pearl onions in the skillet until each has a nice sear to them.

For plating, add the squash soup to a wide and shallow soup bowl.  Place the octopus in the center and place the pearl  onions in the center of the octopus.  Add three artichoke halves around the perimeter.  You can add some herb greens on top if you like (chives or cilantro or parsley).  Serve it up!

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Mussels, Clams and Scallop Soup

Ingredients, Serves 4:

• 2 lbs Mussels, cleans and debearded
• 2 lbs Clams, scrubbed
• 2 C White Wine
• 1/3 C EVO
• 1/2 Red Onion, small diced
• 2 Bell Peppers (Red, Orange or Yellow), medium diced
• 1 Celery stalk, 1/8" slices
• 1 Carrot, medium diced
• 3 Anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped
• 1/4 C Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• French Baguette
• 1/4 C Fresh Basil, thinly sliced

This is an incredible warm meal for winter nights!  Pour 1/2 cup of white wine into two pots set on high heat.  Bring to boil and add mussels into one pot and clams into the other pot.  Cover and boil until mussels and clams open (about 3-4 minutes).  Discard any shellfish that doesn't open.  Transfer shellfish to bowl and set aside.  Shuck half the mussels and clams and discard the shells.  Leave the other half in their shells.  Strain the shellfish liquid through a cheesecloth or paper towel in a strainer and reserve.  

In a large pot, heat 1/4 cup of EVO over medium heat.  Add onions, bell peppers, celery and carrots.  Sweat vegetables until they are soft (about 4-5 minutes) but not brown.  Add 2 cups of the reserved shellfish stock, remaining 1 cup of white wine, anchovies, vinegar and garlic.  Bring pot to a boil and then reduce to simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven broiler.  Slice several medium thin slices of the french baguette (diagonal cuts are best) and brush them with the rest of the EVO and place them (EVO side up) on a baking sheet.  Place baking sheet in the oven and bake until tops are golden brown (about 1 minute).  Watch them carefully!  They can burn fast!

Add the shallots to the soup pot and continue simmering for 2 minutes.  Add the mussels and clams back into the pot.  Take the bread slices out of the oven and sprinkle with some of the sliced basil.  Put the bread slices in a serving basket.  Pour the soup into a serving container and sprinkle with the rest of the sliced basil.  Server it up!

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