Sous Vide Fillets of Plaice | Recipe by sousvidetools.com

Fillets of English Plaice, Cooked Sous Vide in the Juice of Mussels with Fresh Parsley and Smoked Garlic Confit Potato

COOK TIME: 2 Hours
PREP TIME: 1 Hour
DIFFICULTY: Easy

Ingredients

1kg Wild Mussels, washed and scrubbed
4 Peeled and Finely Diced Shallots
3 Cloves of Crushed Garlic
Zest 1 Lemon
6 tbsp. Finely Chopped Parsley
100mls White Wine
75mls Double Cream
50g Butter
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
1kg Plaice Fillets
6 Whole Cloves Smoked Garlic
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
150mls Confit Oil
500g Baby New Potatoes

Equipment

EQUIPMENT

Sous Vide Water Bath
Vacuum Packer
Vacuum Pouches
Chopping Boards
Sauté Pans
Char Grill Plate
Bowls

Method

The infusion created by cooking the plaice with the juice of mussels in this dish adds real richness to the plate.

METHOD

In a large saucepan with a lid gently sauté the chopped shallots with a little butter and olive oil then add the crushed garlic and lemon zest. Turn the heat up high and add the washed mussels
Deglaze the pan with white wine and place on the lid
Quickly steam the mussels for 1-2 minutes until all the shells are open, season with salt and quickly transfer to a colander, collecting the juice in a container
Cool the juice down
Season the plaice fillets with a little salt and place in a vacuum pouch then add some of the cooled mussel juice
Use the vacuum packer seal the pouch and cook in a preheated water bath at 52 degrees for 20 minutes
In another pouch add the baby potatoes, some salt, the smoked garlic, a sprig of thyme, smoked paprika and the confit oil
Seal the pouch and cook in a preheated waterbath at 90 degrees for 1 hour, until tender
Pick the mussel meat from the shell and pass the remaining juice through a fine sieve
Add the juice to a small pan with the cream and bring to the boil. Cook out until thickened slightly then season to taste. Add the mussels to the sauce and reheat
To serve, take the baby potatoes from the pouch and drain the oil, adjust seasoning and toss some fresh chopped parsley through them
Take the plaice from the pouch, pat dry and plate up. Cover with the mussels and sauce and lastly add the potato
This dish would be lovely with some English asparagus and spinach

Chef’s Tip –

Why not spice up your life a little by adding some Thai coconut sauce to the pouch.

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Post by Chris Holland

Our Chef Director Chris Holland worked as Head Chef at the prestigious Alderley Edge hotel before joining us. He has a passion for using the best produce and never compromises on quality. Author of our best selling book Sous Vide The Art of Precision Cooking, Chris is a expert on the sous vide technique.During the later part of my school days at Wardle High School Rochdale I always wanted to be a chef . I knew from the very start that my path to work was never going to be academic it was always going to be something practical and hands on.

As a young boy growing up I was inspired to cook with my Grandma who was and still is an inspiration to me . I have memories of helping make the cakes that she always had made for visitors and family alike . She made the most amazing cakes and I loved nothing more than eating the sweet raw cake batter straight from the bowl . We used to fight over who got to lick the bowl/spoon after the cakes were made. My grandma’s philosophy for cooking even on a shoe string budget was always to use fresh and seasonal ingredients either home grown or bought from the market.

School was somewhat of a drag for me as I was itching to learn to become a chef.

I started at Hopwood Hall college as a chef and instantly fell in love with it .To me it was the only real time I excelled in something and this inspired me to really get my head down and put in the hard work. College was the first time I really excelled in something and gave me the opportunity to laugh at the teachers who said I would never make something of my life!!!!

During the three years at college I also took on a part time position in a local hotel working the bar and restaurant first and then the kitchen. These were great days and gave me the opportunity to see how the industry ticks. I learnt a lot from those days both good and bad !! But I have to say I was itching to work only in the kitchen but it was a good insight into the catering world .

After completing college I moved away from Rochdale for a full time roll at one of Cheshire’s most talked about Hotel restaurants The Stanneylands Hotel. This was the school of hard knocks for me as I quickly realised that although excelling at college meant nothing in “The Real World”.

I loved every minute of the 18 hour days 6 days a week on minimum wage . Although difficult I feel that without this grounding I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. After 18 months of hard graft I left Stanneylands and went with the Head chef to open a fine dining restaurant at Mere Golf and Country Club. The opportunity to work alongside Matthew Barrett was too good to turn down. I learnt so much from the ex-Ritz chef and working in a much slower paced role helped me develop a much better understanding of how to organise and run a kitchen. We were a very small team and teamwork was and still is the only way to go for me.

After 2 years at Mere I got the opportunity to go into The Alderley Edge Hotel as Junior Souschef. The Early days at the Edge were all about learning new styles of cuising which is invaluable in any role as a chef. I got the opportunity to grow and learn all aspects of every section which was inspiring . I was offered the opportunity at the age of 29 (2004) to take the role of head chef. For me this was when I really started to develop my own style of food.

After 9 years at the top winning Cheshire restaurant of the year , Chef of the Year and appearing on GBM amongst many highlights including cooking for many celebrities and famous people I decided to move on into development with Sousvidetools.

The main inspiration for this was to train and educate people . I always had a great passion for education but could never really see myself at a college . The job is super rewarding and I am proud to say we have become the leading light in sous-vide education in the UK . This is something I am very proud of . Food is my biggest passion and this is what keeps me interested the most . I love to travel and try out other countries cuisines. I am constantly inspired by ingredients and the pursuit of getting the best out of them without destroying their natural flavour .It is super important to me to continue to try and be at the forefront of the food scene this is what inspire me and the team to keep driving forward .

Technology is now widely used in the industry and I am super proud to say we have been a big part of spreading that message.

I am very lucky to be in the position I am and the drive to constantly improve our training and links to the next generation of young budding hospitality chefs.

TI feel that my experience over the last 25 years really enables me to get close and educate the “next generation” of chefs .

The industry which I love is really struggling to bring through new recruits and if I can help that process I will be immensely proud.

The food seen in the Uk has improved dramatically over the last ten years and I feel this will continue with the correct education. What happens next only fate will tell us...

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