This is a simple sauce that has quite a few uses and variations if you so desire. As always, the method I describe is "best practice". The shortcuts to will be posted in smaller typeface. I will describe the recipe then post some serving suggestions.
Safety warning: This recipe specifies minimum cooking for the bivalves. Unless you are cooking this sous-vide, the cooking times I have suggested are not long enough to pasteurize the food. Only attempt this recipe with extremely fresh shellfish from a supplier you trust, and do not serve this dish to anybody who has a compromised immune system. If you wish to guarantee food safety, double the cooking times I have suggested but be warned that this will make the shellfish rubbery and more typical of what you may be used to when you go to a restaurant! "Just cooked" shellfish has an incredibly tender quality and tastes fresh as the ocean. Your guests will think you have a chef's touch to cook the shellfish so precisely, but all this comes down to the magic of sous-vide.
Ingredients
- 500gm mussels or clams
- 2 large shallots, fine dice
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- herbs (I prefer tarragon)
- 200mL white wine
- salt
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- lemon or lime juice, to taste
- fish sauce or salt, to taste
Method
1. Debeard the mussels and soak in a cold water bath for 30 minutes. If using clams, soak in some salt water (better still, sea water if you can get it) until all the sand and grit is purged. Drain well. Discard any shellfish which have an "off" smell.
2. Fry the shallots and garlic over low heat until slightly browned, then add half the white wine and reduce until syrupy.
3. Add the mussels or clams and cover the saucepan with a lid for exactly two minutes (for mussels) or 90 seconds (for clams).
4. Strain all the contents out, reserving the juice. Pick out the shellfish and return the garlic and shallots to the saucepan. Shuck the shellfish and reserve the juice. Add the juice to the saucepan.
5. Bring to a simmer then add the tarragon and peppercorn. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the sauce, discard the solids.
6. Seal the shellfish in a sous-vide bag. Cook sous-vide for 10 minutes at 62C. ALTERNATIVE: reserve the shellfish and add at the end when the sauce is reheated.
7. Reheat the sauce then add the shellfish and serve with your choice of dish. If you did not sous-vide the shellfish, add back to the sauce and simmer for two minutes exactly. The cooking time I suggested guarantees the shellfish will not be overcooked and rubbery. "Just cooked" mussels or clams is a beautiful thing.
Applications
This sauce can be used in a spaghetti and chorizo vongole. I searched my HDD for the picture but couldn't find it! Cut the chorizo into half coins (same size as the shellfish) then sautee. Toss with the sauce and spaghetti and serve.
You can also add the shellfish back into the shells and nap the sauce over it. These mussels were served with Japanese flavourings, with sake substituting for white wine, yuzu substituting for lemon, and fish sauce instead of salt. Garnish with chives and tobiko. You can see the effect of the precision cooking - the mussels are bordering on translucent and have only just gained a hint of opacity.
Here is the same thing served with panfried scallops. Remove the scallops from the shell, then sterilize the shell in boiling water. Panfry the scallops then nap the sauce over it. Same garnish.
If you can't be bothered serving it in the shells, serve it in a small soup bowl.
Here it is again, this time served with panfried rockling on broccolini on a potato puree.
Here is the final variation - the sauce was blended with blanched watercress and then filtered to make a spectacular green sauce. Served with John Dory and peas.
Safety warning: This recipe specifies minimum cooking for the bivalves. Unless you are cooking this sous-vide, the cooking times I have suggested are not long enough to pasteurize the food. Only attempt this recipe with extremely fresh shellfish from a supplier you trust, and do not serve this dish to anybody who has a compromised immune system. If you wish to guarantee food safety, double the cooking times I have suggested but be warned that this will make the shellfish rubbery and more typical of what you may be used to when you go to a restaurant! "Just cooked" shellfish has an incredibly tender quality and tastes fresh as the ocean. Your guests will think you have a chef's touch to cook the shellfish so precisely, but all this comes down to the magic of sous-vide.
Ingredients
- 500gm mussels or clams
- 2 large shallots, fine dice
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- herbs (I prefer tarragon)
- 200mL white wine
- salt
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- lemon or lime juice, to taste
- fish sauce or salt, to taste
Method
1. Debeard the mussels and soak in a cold water bath for 30 minutes. If using clams, soak in some salt water (better still, sea water if you can get it) until all the sand and grit is purged. Drain well. Discard any shellfish which have an "off" smell.
2. Fry the shallots and garlic over low heat until slightly browned, then add half the white wine and reduce until syrupy.
3. Add the mussels or clams and cover the saucepan with a lid for exactly two minutes (for mussels) or 90 seconds (for clams).
4. Strain all the contents out, reserving the juice. Pick out the shellfish and return the garlic and shallots to the saucepan. Shuck the shellfish and reserve the juice. Add the juice to the saucepan.
5. Bring to a simmer then add the tarragon and peppercorn. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the sauce, discard the solids.
6. Seal the shellfish in a sous-vide bag. Cook sous-vide for 10 minutes at 62C. ALTERNATIVE: reserve the shellfish and add at the end when the sauce is reheated.
7. Reheat the sauce then add the shellfish and serve with your choice of dish. If you did not sous-vide the shellfish, add back to the sauce and simmer for two minutes exactly. The cooking time I suggested guarantees the shellfish will not be overcooked and rubbery. "Just cooked" mussels or clams is a beautiful thing.
Applications
This sauce can be used in a spaghetti and chorizo vongole. I searched my HDD for the picture but couldn't find it! Cut the chorizo into half coins (same size as the shellfish) then sautee. Toss with the sauce and spaghetti and serve.
You can also add the shellfish back into the shells and nap the sauce over it. These mussels were served with Japanese flavourings, with sake substituting for white wine, yuzu substituting for lemon, and fish sauce instead of salt. Garnish with chives and tobiko. You can see the effect of the precision cooking - the mussels are bordering on translucent and have only just gained a hint of opacity.
Here is the same thing served with panfried scallops. Remove the scallops from the shell, then sterilize the shell in boiling water. Panfry the scallops then nap the sauce over it. Same garnish.
If you can't be bothered serving it in the shells, serve it in a small soup bowl.
Here it is again, this time served with panfried rockling on broccolini on a potato puree.
Here is the final variation - the sauce was blended with blanched watercress and then filtered to make a spectacular green sauce. Served with John Dory and peas.
