' 58 deg .C LAMB with CARROT DEMI-GLACE .'

58 degrees C. Sous vide cooked Lamb loin medallions with Caramelised Carrot Demi-glace , Asparagus & Leek Risotto , Asparagus spears , Sauteed Leek and parsley sprigs .

                Back out with the sous vide water oven for another week, as I'm eager cook these fab looking lamb loin fillets (msa grain-fed). I think the one hour, 58 deg. c was perfect for this cut and thickness of lamb but I left the lamb on hold for another 20 or so minutes extra before I got to taking them out and in hind sight a hot skillet when searing with a quicker searing time as well. I accompanied this dish with a Demi-glace and not the average one either. A traditional Demi-glace in french cooking is a rich brown sauce used by itself or as a base for other sauces. The term is from the french word 'glace' when used in reference to sauce means icing or glaze. Made by combining veal stock and espagnole sauce and reduced by half. My version for this is a very simple vegetarian version that is made with carrot juice and soy sauce, reduced and thickened with arrowroot flour. The result is amazing, a rich, complex sauce velvety and deep in flavour that resembles a sauce derived from protein. To this all I added a sauteed asparagus spears and a leek filled with a creamy asparagus and leek risotto.
                To make this plate I started with the lamb loin fillets placing them into food grade plastic pouches along with a little butter, cracked pepper, salt, garlic paste and a parsley sprig in each. These were then vacuum sealed and placed into a 58 degree c. sous vide water bath and cooked for one hour. During this time I prepped the risotto and the Demi-glace, beginning with the risotto I heated some butter in pan until foaming and added thinly sliced leek and sauteed for 2-3 minutes until soft. I then added some chopped asparagus and sauteed for another 2-3 minutes before setting aside. In a large stock pot I brought some chicken broth to the boil before reducing the heat to very low, so the broth was kept warm but not simmering. In a high sided large pan I heated a little olive oil to this I added a two cups of arborio rice and stirred cooking the rice for about 3-4 minutes before adding a cup of dry white wine and stirring for a further 3-4 minutes until the rice had absorbed the wine. I then added two cups of broth to the rice and kept stirring until all the broth was absorbed, to this I added another cup, continuing to stir. I repeated this until 5 cups had been absorbed and on the last cup I added a little saffron threads soaked in milk and the sauteed leek and asparagus. Once all the broth was absorbed I removed the pan from the stove and added some grated parmigiano-reggiano. This was spooned into a casing made buy blanching a one and a half inch leek ring in boiling, salted water before dunking in an ice water bath and then lightly sauteed in a skillet, this was then topped with sauteed asparagus spears. To make the Demi-glace I juiced some baby carrots and ran the juice through a muslin filter, I added 200 g of this to a saucepan with 50 g of good quality soy sauce. This was brought to the boil before being reduced to a low simmer for about 20 minutes until reduced by half, skimming the froth at times. I then removed some of sauce and mixed it with a level table spoon of arrowroot flour to for a paste. This was then added to the sauce and mixed before being removed from the heat and set aside. At this stage the lamb was ready and I opened the pouches and seared the fillets in hot pan until browned all over and then I removed the meat and allowed it to rest for 3 minutes before carving medallions for plating.