Sous-vide lettuce. Anyone?

[Anna N]

In the book Relae: A Book of Ideas, there is mention of cooking romaine lettuce in butter using sous vide. However, there is no discussion whatsoever of time or temperature. A Google search provides a single link to sous vide lettuce that I believe is in German and that cannot be played on anything but a computer. Link.

 

I don’t have a computer anymore so that is out and my basic German is very, very rusty.

 

Has anyone tried poaching romaine lettuce in butter using sous vide?  Or if you were to attempt it what time and temperature would you begin with in your trials?

 

 

 

[rotuts]

Ive played your link , but cannon get s sound.

 

leafy greens are placed in a stainless steel pan , then a plastic lid is placed over it.

 

the lid is reinforced , is you will with a green connection that is then vacuum-extracted by a very interesting looking machine.

 

thats it.   

 

I could not get the video to pause so I might post a few screen shots.

[rotuts]

here they are , for review purposes :

 

 

bit of a mystery as to what's the point.

 

for completeness sake , there are SV baths near by :

 

 

Ive seen similar baths on Great British Menu    sorry for the bad pic.

 

if there is SV going on at some point for these Greens , its not on the Vid.

 

I would be interested in finding out what is being accomplishes by drawing a vacuum on the Greens.

 

they appear to be wet , as they are shaken-off before vein placed in the pan.

 

the Vac'd

Edited January 30, 2018 by rotuts (log)

[Duvel]

I could translate, but the video doesn't have sound in any of my laptops ...

[rotuts]

why would someone apply a vacuum to damp greens in a rigid container ?

 

the container might prevent their compression , which would occur in a plastic bag 

 

........

 

[Anna N]

 Well thanks for your efforts. Very peculiar.

 

 

Here is the intriguing passage from the book:

 

“After trying a lot of different cooking techniques, we ended up vaccuum-sealing the lettuce with butter and then poaching it sous vide, and found that those crisp, juicy stems that keep the leaves together become even juicier once carefully cooked. The lettuce head’s very juicy, soft tips and crisper core combine with a subtle and grassy bitterness, making it an ingredient that very often returns to our menu.”

 

I happen to love grilled romaine so I am intrigued by this concept.  Guess I will have to try some experiments. 

 

[btbyrd]

I've done endive before, but not lettuce. At any rate, I'd try 85C until you think the lettuce is close to where you want it to be. Check on it after 20 minutes or so and then every 5 after that until it looks like you imagine it should look.

[Anna N]

44 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

I've done endive before, but not lettuce. At any rate, I'd try 85C until you think the lettuce is close to where you want it to be. Check on it after 20 minutes or so and then every 5 after that until it looks like you imagine it should look.

Well thank you. All I really wanted was a  starting point so this is perfect. 

[btbyrd]

85C is (more or less) where pectin starts to break down and vegetables start to soften. I'm assuming they wanted to basically do a gentle blanch of it while also infusing it with melty buttery goodness. Sounds kind of good, really, given their description... 

[Anna N]

11 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

85C is (more or less) where pectin starts to break down and vegetables start to soften. I'm assuming they wanted to basically do a gentle blanch of it while also infusing it with melty buttery goodness. Sounds kind of good, really, given their description... 

Yes it did sound so very good.  Cooked lettuce is not to everyone’s taste but I happen to enjoy it. 

[Okanagancook]

On page 120 they describe cooking vegetables in a butter emulsion at temps between 75-90c or165-194f.

[Anna N]

 Well certainly my first attempt was disappointing. I went 85°C for 20 minutes. This was a small head split lengthwise and packaged in a re-sealable bag with some butter. I forced out most of the air. I couldn’t see vacuum sealing it which would just have crushed the lettuce.   The discolouration is quite offputting. 

 

 

 But I was determined to give it a chance. I squeezed some lemon juice over it and added some garlic croutons. I didn’t think it was any sort of an improvement over simply braised lettuce.  Perhaps one should not split it lengthwise but attempt to cook it whole.  At least it’s not foie gras so one can play for quite a time on very little gelt. 

[Anna N]

10 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

On page 120 they describe cooking vegetables in a butter emulsion at temps between 75-90c or165-194f.

 Yes I did see that. But that is a fairly common technique as I understand it.  I am guessing they were able to get something more by going the sous vide route. Thanks. 

[rotuts]

@Anna N

 

well keep at it.

 

the discoloring is odd

 

i wonder what caused it.

 

the book you mentioned is not in my Library System

 

and looks interesting

 

Ill ask for a purchase

 

they generality do this , as they have to buy something w my realEstate taxes.

 

how do you like the book en generale

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

how do you like the book en generale

 The early part of the book is quite interesting but this is by no means my style of book.  I think it is aimed much more at the serious restaurant chef than  the home cook. It’s really the ideas behind a concept for a restaurant.  I like how much it encourages one to think outside of the box and to approach ingredients with a wide open mind. 

 

I suspect I am too unsophisticated to appreciate their plating which I found downright depressing.  At no time did I ever wish I could score a reservation there!  

 

 Regardless I felt I got something out of the book. 

Edited January 30, 2018 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

Darn.  I did not try hard enough to discover their secret!  

They do vacuum seal 3 whole heads of romaine with only the outer leaves removed. It is cooked sous vide at 68°C for 18 minutes with 90 g of unsalted, cubed butter.   After being sous vided they are sliced lengthwise and served with salted and dried grated egg yolk and dried broken olives as part of a dish. 

 I shall try again. 

 

Edited January 30, 2018 by Anna N
To add the broken olives (log)

[FeChef]

My grandmother used to pour hot bacon dressing over Romaine lettuce. I was never a fan of it. Something about wilted warm lettuce triggers my gag reflex. No idea why, i like sauteed spinach, collard greens, and cabbage.

[gfweb]

I think romaine really benefits from a hot saute in butter... wilts completely and deeply browns the cut surface. Sweet and nutty.

[rotuts]

if I were to do do Lettuce in an ' odd '  way :

 

it would be Romaine

 

completely fresh or ice-cold rehydrated

 

you know what I mean   many leaves are very tired after ' shipping '

 

then cut in 1/2 

 

brushed w a bit of EVOO , perhaps some seasonings

 

the grilled cut side down for some color

 

and then gobbled up that way

 

that being said

 

its been said : 

 

what does He Know ?

 

forgetting that I invented M.R.

 

 

going to have some MR soon MySelf !

Edited January 31, 2018 by rotuts (log)