February 2018

Happy February, everyone.

dishes we encountered here and on our upcoming travels. But in the meantime, please do give the one below a try.

I hope that 2018 is going well for all of you, and I am looking forward to sharing more of our adventures with you along the way.

Cheers,

Simon

P.S.

Please do check out this month's discounted offer below from my pals at Rare Tea Company (not a paid endorsement).

Also, please don’t forget to let me know on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook if you tried this month’s newsletter recipe (Santorini Fava), any of the recipes on my "Simon Says" cooking series on Pureflix.com (where you can sign up and join for free for a month), my website, or my Salted dinner kits (which are available from your participating local Whole Foods, Gelson's, Bristol Farms and Publix supermarkets).

SIMON'S FOOD SCHOOL:

SOUS VIDE

While I am not one who has ever believed in setting himself new year resolutions, I do always set myself a few culinary challenges at the beginning of each year. Sometimes this can be to delve deeper into a certain cuisine inspired by my travels around the world. Other times, it might be to perfect a dish that I have made for years but have never quite been satisfied with the finished results. And, sometimes, as it is this year, it can be to learn a new culinary technique.

So, in 2018, I have set my sights on learning more about the technique of cooking sous vide. Now, this may seem odd, as this method of cooking food in a vacuum sealed bags at a precise temperature has been around for some time, and has become as popular in the home as it has been for a very long time in restaurants. And yet, despite its current vogue, I have yet to be entirely convinced that it can replace my primal desire to throw a steak into a screamingly hot cast iron skillet, or to reach into the cupboard for my trusty pressure cooker.

However, there are now enough of my friends in the food world who swear by sous vide, that I decided that I at least had to give it a try. But, before I did that, of course, with my love of food history, I had to look into how this way of cooking that I often dismissed as “boil in the bag” first came about.

The 1960s of “cryovacing” (named after the company Cryovac Inc., which was acquired by the folks responsible for the creation of Bubble Wrap) or sealing food in a vacuum, gave those in commercial kitchens the opportunity to do two things. The first was to infuse flavors more rapidly into food by the use of compression, and the second was to create a stable environment in which food could be cooked more consistently. It was first used by the legendary Chef George Pralus from Restaurant Pierre Troisgros in Roanne, France, who experimented with a way of cooking foie gras so that it did not lose so much valuable weight during cooking. The end result not only achieved that affect, but by cooking at a constant temperature while sealed in a vacuum, it also gave the liver a wonderful silky texture that became acclaimed.

Chef Pralus began to teach this technique at his own culinary academy and later a food scientist called Bruno Goussalt, developed guidelines for technique and times that allowed this method of cooking to spread to commercial kitchens across the world, and even to provide decent meals for high end passengers on commercial airliners.

Now of course, the term sous vide does not have the same mystical resonance it had when I first heard about it in the 1980s. And, whereas the first vacuum sealers and sous vide circulators cost as much as a small car, there are now home versions that make trying this technique at home very affordable.

The first thing you will need is a good machine. And not just because he is a pal, I can definitely recommend this one from my friend Geoffrey Zakarian (not a paid endorsement).

The second thing you will need is a good guide and this feature from Serious Eats (not a paid endorsement) is definitely the best I have found to date.

I hope some of you will join me as I explore this new (to me) way of cooking, and I look forward to reporting back some of my hopeful successes in future newsletters.

THE BOOK ZONE

DISCOUNT OFFER

YOUR "FIRST LOOK" RECIPE:

Santorini Fava (Split Peas)

It still amazes me, no matter how many fine dining meals I eat, that it is often the simplest dishes that linger longest in the memory. This month's recipe is proof of that. This delicious dip, which originated on the Greek island of Santorini, consists of only a handful of ingredients. And yet, when we first encountered it in a small basement taverna in Athens, it stood out as one of the highlights from our eating adventures in this ancient city.

Although, confusingly, it carries the name "fava," it is actually made with yellow split peas, which you can also find in any Indian store labelled "Channa Dal." It's perfect to serve with a warm pita bread, or even with crudites of carrots and radish.

(Serves 4)

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 Cups Yellow Split Peas
• 6 Cups of Water
• 2 Shallots (1 Sliced Thinly for Garnish, 1 Diced)
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• Salt (To Taste)
• Pepper (To Taste)
• Roasted Green Peppers (Optional, for Garnish)
• Black Olives (Optional, for Garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rinse the split peas in cold water and drain.
2. Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to a saucepan and bring to a medium heat.
3. Add the diced shallots.
4. Saute the shallots for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are soft, but not colored.
5. Add the rinsed chickpeas and the water. If the peas begin to soak up the water more quickly, just add more cold water.
6. Cook on a medium heat for around one hour, or until the peas begin to break down.
7. As they cook, the peas will release scum to the surface of the water. Skim this off with a spoon.
8. Once the peas have broken down, blend them to a fine puree. I do this in the pan with an immersion blender.
9. Add the olive oil (but save some to use for drizzling on the finished dish).
10. Add salt to taste and cook for a further 5 minutes.
11. Turn off the heat.
12. Cover the pan with a lid covered in a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
13. Serve in a bowl (either warm or cold) drizzled with olive oil and topped with the sliced raw shallots. You can also top with black pepper, roasted green peppers or black olives.

And, Last But Not Least... Please Check Out: