Low-temperature and slow-cooking recipes

I think today's post could be a revelation for many. I am not bringing you a single recipe, but a complete menu with recipes made in a low-temperature cooker. I hope you enjoy this delicious vegetable frittata, a veal dish with creamy mushroom sauce and, for dessert, the most velvety and delicious crème brûlée.

The results of these recipes are made possible thanks to the low-temperature cooking provided by the WMF Sous-Vide and Slow Cooker – a machine that has pleasantly surprised me.

The first time I used it, I was amazed by how it worked. It is a device that is so easy to use, takes so little time and gives you so much! It allows you to prepare all kinds of food such as meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, desserts... at a very precise temperature.

With the WMF Sous-Vide, you can cook in several ways:

• with vacuum-seal bags (by submerging the food in hot water for sous-vide cooking);
• by placing the food in airtight jars and submerging them equally in the water;
• or as if cooking in a bain-marie in the container that comes with the Sous-Vide machine itself (the Slow Cook accessory for slow cooking). You fill the basket with meats and vegetables and place it in the machine.

It is wonderful to cook there! The hot water surrounding the tray gradually heats and cooks everything in it. Gradually, progressively, never raising the temperature too high (at most up to 90°), and preserving all the flavour and properties of the food.

I had been looking for a machine for a while that would allow me to cook healthily, whilst also respecting the properties and nutrients of the food. Who wouldn't want to cook more flavoursome and aromatic dishes without losing vitamins and minerals, whilst maintaining total control over the cooking temperature?

With this machine, I feel that when I cook, I am doing so in the healthiest and most delicious way possible. It is one of the most efficient kitchen appliances I have come across lately! I encourage you to try it and I am sure you will fall in love with it. And if not, do let me know. Take note of this menu, as it is absolutely finger-licking good.

WMF Sous-Vide and Slow Cooker

Vegetable Frittata in a Jar

Ingredients

• 4 empty jam jars with lids
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 courgette
• 1 small red onion
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 150 g fresh goat's cheese
• 6 eggs
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• 4 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the low-temperature cooking machine to 80 °C and fill the slow cooking accessory with 2 cm of water.
2. Wash, dry and prepare the vegetables, removing the seeds from the courgette. Chop finely.
3. Heat a frying pan with the olive oil and gently sauté the vegetables for a few minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped parsley. Mix well and divide the vegetable mixture evenly between the jam jars.
5. Blend the eggs and goat's cheese with a hand blender until you obtain a smooth mixture. Season with salt and cayenne pepper and divide between the jam jars.
6. Close the jars and cook for approximately 60 minutes in the slow cooking accessory, as if doing a bain-marie in the slow cook accessory.
7. After an hour, the egg will be set and the frittata ready. You can now serve these delicious vegetable frittata jars or take them to work!

Veal with Creamy Chanterelle Sauce and Spätzle

(Presentation photo at the end of the post.)

Ingredients

For the veal:

• ½ veal rump (approx. 600 g)
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp clarified butter

For the creamy chanterelle sauce

• 250 g chanterelle mushrooms
• 1 small onion
• ½ tbsp butter
• ½ tbsp olive oil
• 100 ml veal stock
• 250 ml cooking cream
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• Pepper
• Salt
• Sugar

For the Spätzle*

• 3 medium eggs
• 150 g plain flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• Nutmeg

*Spätzle are a type of pasta typical of Germany, made from egg and flour; they are similar in shape to gnocchi, but smaller, and are served mainly with meat dishes.

Method

1. Fill the WMF slow cooker machine with water and preheat to 55 °C. Meanwhile, also heat a frying pan over medium heat.
2. Rinse the veal with cold water and pat dry carefully. Add a few tablespoons of oil to the pan and quickly sear the meat on both sides. Allow to cool, then vacuum-seal it together with the clarified butter (using a vacuum sealer).
3. Place the vacuum bags in the slow cooker. Cook for 3 hours.
4. Peel and finely chop the onion, clean the chanterelles and halve them if large.
5. Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan and fry the chanterelles for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden.
6. Add the onions and fry for a further 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then pour over the veal stock and cream and bring to the boil over medium heat. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Season again to taste.
7. For the spätzle, place the flour in a bowl, add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the beaten eggs and stir with a spoon from the inside outwards, until you obtain a smooth batter.
8. In a saucepan, bring 2 litres of well-salted water to the boil.
9. Press the spätzle batter directly into the boiling water using a spätzle press. Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon. Refresh in cold water and drain well using a colander.
10. Heat a frying pan, remove the cooked veal from the vacuum bag, fry with a little butter and then slice. Quickly fry the spätzle in butter to reheat them.
11. Plate the veal rump and spätzle, covering them with the creamy chanterelle sauce. Finally, garnish with chopped parsley. Enjoy!

Crème brûlée

Ingredients

• 4 empty jam jars with lids
• 150 ml cream
• 150 ml milk
• 25 g sugar
• ¼ vanilla pod
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 20 g sugar
• 40 g sugar

Method

1. Preheat the WMF slow cooker machine with the slow cooking accessory to 90 °C and add 1 cm of water to the reservoir.
2. In a saucepan, add the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla pod and bring to the boil.
3. Mix together the eggs, egg yolk and sugar.
4. Carefully add the hot milk and cream mixture to the egg mixture, stirring continuously so that the egg does not set.
5. Pass through a sieve and divide the cream between the 4 jam jars. Close the jars with their lids and place in the slow cooking accessory for 60 minutes.
6. Remove the jars and leave to cool.
7. Before serving, sprinkle brown sugar over the top and caramelise using a kitchen blowtorch.

Presentation suggestion for the veal with creamy chanterelle sauce and spätzle, and presentation of the Crème brûlée