surf and turf sous vide with zucchini noodles

Having tried to cook salmon sous vide for the first time, I was so thrilled with the result that I may never go back to other ways of cooking this fish again. It was very moist, flavorful and perfectly cooked.

Using a vacuum sealer (shown above) to get the air out of the bag ensures that the food stays submerged in the water while simmering. A ziplock food bag will work just as well using the water displacement technique. I used the Anova brand of immersion circulator. Set the temperature to 50C (122F) then set the timer to 40 minutes. The salmon pieces were about 8 oz each. This recipe is also available at the Anova culinary website.

Rump steak cooked medium rare was sliced across the grain as shown above. The nice thing about the sous vide method of cooking is there's absolutely no way the steak can get overcooked and dry out during the sous vide process. It will always be evenly cooked inside out. A quick sear on a hot cast iron grill or pan was all that was needed before slicing and serving. Allow the steak to rest for about 10 minutes after searing.

My husband's sous vide tasting plate with thinly sliced steak, a small piece of salmon, cheese slices and zucchini noodles (shown above).

The zucchini noodle side dish, shown above, cooked scampi-style with minced garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes and lemon juice, was another revelation. I keep reading about them in food websites that I had to give it a try. We've always loved grilled zucchini since we discovered how grilling makes them extra flavorful, but I have to say this was another must-keep idea.

This Benriner turning slicer (shown above) is a handy kitchen gadget which I often use for carrots and other salad vegetables. It does a great job creating all kinds of spiral-cut vegetables. I used the medium blade slicer for these zucchini noodles.