SousVide Supreme Chicken Three Ways! Chicken Cordon Bleu, Lemon Thyme Chicken Kebabs & Chicken with Beans

SousVide Supreme Chicken Three Ways! Chicken Cordon Bleu, Lemon Thyme Chicken Kebabs & Chicken with Beans

Review:

SousVide Supreme Chicken Three Ways!

Chicken Cordon Bleu, Lemon Thyme Chicken Kebabs & Chicken with Beans

SousVide Supreme Chicken Three Ways! Chicken Cordon Bleu, Lemon Thyme Chicken Kebabs & Chicken with Beans

I have been on a bit of retro kick lately and have been rediscovering recipes from the 1970’s – those famous restaurant staples of many a restaurant or bistro, such as steak and chips, prawn cocktail, chef’s salad and chicken cordon bleu. Retro recipes need not be the butt of humour, in fact, if they are prepared and cooked with care they are filling, inexpensive and extremely tasty. I realise that chicken cordon bleu has had very bad press over the years, mainly due to the cardboard examples you find in the freezer cabinet at your local supermarket, as well as the deep-fried “cannon balls” that are sometimes served in pubs as part of the “pub grub” phenomena, but when prepared skilfully, they make a most amazing mid-week supper dish. I was lucky enough to be sent a fabulous piece of kitchen equipment recently, a machine that I have lusted after and have seen in use on many a TV cooking show, a SousVide Supreme Water Bath.

SousVide Supreme Water Bath

I was asked to be part of a special blogger challenge by SousVide Supreme and in return for receiving one of these amazing machines for review, I will be creating four special posts to include a variety of recipes, all using the SousVide Supreme water bath. For my first post, I will be showing you just how easy the SousVide machine is to use, as well as showcasing chicken for my first set of recipes. I will be sharing my Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe, along with some amazing Lemon Thyme Chicken Kebabs and then using an existing recipe for Lemon Chicken with Cannellini Beans and Rosemary, but cooked the SousVide Supreme way. Sous vide cooking is just amazing…….I knew I would be a convert before I even unpacked my machine! It’s basically a technique to cook food in a vacuum packed pocket and in a water bath, at a precise temperature and for a set time. The term “sous vide” is French and means ” under vacuum”, and it is a great way to cook in a low-fat way, whilst sealing flavour and moisture into meat, fish and poultry.

SousVide Supreme Vacuum Sealer

The History of Sous Vide

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This method of cooking was developed in the mid–1970s by chef Georges Pralus (at the internationally renowned Michelin Three-Star Restaurant, Troisgros, in Roanne, France) initially as a means of minimizing costly shrinkage of and optimally cooking delicate foie gras.

Chef Bruno Goussault subsequently adopted and expanded the technique to consistently provide gourmet-quality meals to first class travellers on Air France.

In the last two decades, sous vide cooking has sparked a wave of culinary innovation and creativity, and has become the secret of top chefs at major restaurants around the world.

SousVide Supreme Website

Vacuum Packed SousVide Pocket

There are four simple steps to cooking the sous vide way, it’s a season, seal, simmer and serve. Lots of food can be served straight from the pockets, such as vegetables, fruit and meat in sauces, whilst other ingredients can be cooked this way before searing, roasting or frying. I decided to cook my chicken in the sous vide water bath before cooking the recipes further, to lock in flavour and to keep the chicken moist as well as tender. It worked like a dream, and I now know that I could have popped the vacuum packed pockets in the freezer for future meals. As you can see from photos below, I prepared the chicken to the pan-frying and barbecue stage, and the chicken breast was so tender and not at all dry as often happens with breast meat.

Vacuum sealing the chicken

Here are my handy steps for sous vide preparation and cooking:

1. Fill the SousVide Supreme machine with hot tap water and set the temperature. Timings and recommended temperatures come in a book as part of the kit, or you can check them there: Sous Vide Cooking Times and Temperatures Reference Guide

2. Prepare the ingredients, I will talk about chicken in this post; season the chicken and then place the seasoned chicken into the plastic pockets, with the herbs and any other ingredients.

3. Vacuum seal the pocket, in the machine that comes with the SousVide Supreme water bath.

4. Once the correct temperature has been reached, place the sealed vacuum packet pocket into the water bath by resting it in the rack that is included. Place the lid on top of the machine.

5. Set the time.

6. When the time is up, carefully take the pocket out of the machine, turn the machine off and either serve your deliciously cooked food straight away, or continue to cook further. Be careful when opening the pockets, as hot steam may escape.

Lemon Thyme Chicken Kebabs

For my kebabs, it was a case of open, season some more, thread onto skewers and barbecue! They took 5 minutes to brown on the barbecue and they were SO tender and infused with lemon, thyme and garlic flavours. The recipe is below. 

Lemon Thyme Chicken Kebabs

My Chicken Cordon Bleu was stuffed with the cheese and ham, then simmered in the SousVide Supreme, before being coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. It was then shallow fried to crisp up the outside, and as you can see from the photos, the cheese was perfectly melted and the chicken was moist and tender. I have shown the steps below in a collage of photos……..

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu

And, finally for my Lemon Chicken with Cannellini Beans and Rosemary, I cooked the chicken with the lemon and rosemary (just like the kebabs), and then I added it to a pan with the rest of the ingredients and heated it up…….again, tender chicken that was packed with flavour and so tender.  I found the procedure of cooking with the SousVide Supreme machine very straightforward and simple, and the results were much better than I expected – the chicken was moist, tender and full of flavour. I cannot wait to test my SousVide Supreme machine out with fish, beef, lamb, vegetables and fruit – so do remember to pop back to see my next post with more new recipes, that will be in four weeks time. In the meantime, please DO enjoy the recipes I have posted below. Karen 

Sponsored Post Disclaimer: I was sent a SousVide Supreme Promo Pack  comprising a SousVide Supreme water oven, vacuum sealer (includes 10 pouches), 2 boxes of vacuum seal cooking pouches, and the Easy Sous Vide cookbook (RRP:£506:98) to keep, in return for four blog posts and twelve recipes. All views and opinions are my own, however, this review is an honest appraisal of the machine and how it functions. Karen S Burns-Booth

RECIPES:

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu (Sous Vide)

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Serves	4
Prep time	45 minutes
Cook time	2 hours, 30 minutes
Total time	3 hours, 15 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Milk, Wheat
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Formal Party
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A beautifully moist version of the classic retro dish, Chicken Cordon Bleu - the chicken is pre-cooked in a SousVide Supreme water bath to ensure it's moist and tender; all that is needed then is to fry the chicken breasts in breadcrumbs for a crispy coating, and then serve them with chips and peas. Use any hard cheese that is handy - I like the tang of a good Emmental in this recipe, but Cheddar is also good.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
• Dijon mustard (about 2 teaspoons)
• 4 slices good quality ham (I used smoked ham)
• 4 pieces of Emmental cheese (about 15g to 20g per piece. Cheddar or another hard cheese can be used)
• plain flour
• 1 large free-range egg (beaten with a teaspoon of milk, or 2 small free-range eggs)
• bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegetable oil

Note

A beautifully moist version of the classic retro dish, Chicken Cordon Bleu - the chicken is pre-cooked in a SousVide Supreme water bath to ensure it's moist and tender; all that is needed then is to fry the chicken breasts in breadcrumbs for a crispy coating, and then serve them with chips and peas. Use any hard cheese that is handy - I like the tang of a good Emmental in this recipe, but Cheddar is also good.

Directions

Step 1	Fill the SousVide Supreme with hot water and then pre-heat to 146F/63.5C
Step 2	Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and carefully cut through the breasts horizontally, to make them larger and flatter, so they opens up like a book. Place each breast between cling-film and then "beat" them with a rolling pin to make them thinner and flatter.
Step 3	Spread the Dijon mustard over each flattened breast, before adding a slice of ham and then sit the piece of cheese in the middle of each ham covered breast.
Step 4	Roll up the chicken breast, being careful to enclose all of the filling, use tooth picks to keep the chicken roll closed if necessary, or roll in cling-film and allow to cool in the fridge.
Step 5	When you are ready to cook the chicken, place two chicken breasts in one large food pouch, or place them all in an extra large pouch and vacuum/seal them.
Step 6	Place the sealed pouches in the SousVide Supreme machine, using the rack to sit the pouches in, and cook for 2 hours.
Step 7	Remove the chicken from the machine, allow to cool slightly and then carefully open the pouches.
Step 8	Place the flour (seasoned with salt and pepper), beaten egg and breadcrumbs in three large separate bowls, and then start to coat the chicken breasts - cover them in flour first, then in the egg and then finally in the breadcrumbs.
Step 9	Cover and put the coated chicken breasts in the fridge until you need to cook them, or, cook them straight away. Heat up some vegetable oil in a large roomy frying pan.
Step 10	Fry each chicken breast in the hot oil, turning them over to make sure they are light golden brown and crisp on all sides, the chicken is already cooked, so this is just to cook the outside coating. You can oven-bake them for 15 to 20 minutes if you like, in a pre-heated oven 200C/400F/Gas mark 6.
Step 11	Drain the chicken on some paper towels, and then serve immediately with chips and peas for a real retro revival! Or, with salad for a lighter, healthier meal.

Lemon Thyme Chicken Kebabs

Lemon Thyme Scented Chicken Kebabs (Sous Vide)

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Serves	4
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	1 hour, 5 minutes
Total time	1 hour, 15 minutes
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Barbecue, Casual Party
Region	Greek
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

No more burnt offerings, by pre-cooking these chicken kebabs in the SouseVide Supreme water bath, with all of the seasonings, these kebabs are juicy and moist and infused with flavour. All that is needed is to sear them on a barbecue or under a grill, and these low-fat and low-calorie kebabs are ready to serve with wraps, salad, chips, baked potatoes etc. This recipe is suitable for those following the 5:2 diet for fast days, and one serving is 125 calories without any accompaniments.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
• zest and juice of one lemon (and lemon then cut into quarters)
• large sprig of fresh lemon thyme
• 2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced finely)
• salt and pepper
• a little olive oil

Note

No more burnt offerings, by pre-cooking these chicken kebabs in the SouseVide Supreme water bath, with all of the seasonings, these kebabs are juicy and moist and infused with flavour. All that is needed is to sear them on a barbecue or under a grill, and these low-fat and low-calorie kebabs are ready to serve with wraps, salad, chips, baked potatoes etc. This recipe is suitable for those following the 5:2 diet for fast days, and one serving is 125 calories without any accompaniments.

Directions

Step 1	Fill the SousVide Supreme with hot water and then pre-heat to 146F/63.5C
Step 2	Cut the chicken breast into large chunks and add them to one large pouch, along with the lemon zest, juice, lemon quarters, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon thyme and a little olive oil.
Step 3	Vacuum and seal the pouch, and place the sealed pouch in the SousVide Supreme machine, using the rack to sit the pouches in, and cook for 1 hour.
Step 4	Remove the chicken from the machine, allow to cool slightly and then carefully open the pouches.
Step 5	Thread the chicken pieces on soaked bamboo skewers, adding a lemon wedge at the top of each skewer. Season to taste once again and the cook over hot coals or on a gas barbecue for about 5 minutes, turning all the time, or until the chicken is golden brown and seared. (You can also cook the kebabs in large griddle pan or under the grill)
Step 6	Serve with salad and wraps, or with assorted dips, chips or baked potatoes.
Step 7	This recipe is suitable for those following the 5:2 diet for fast days, and one serving is 125 calories without any accompaniments.

Lemon Chicken with Cannellini Beans and Rosemary

Lemon Chicken with Cannellini Beans and Rosemary

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Serves	2
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	20 minutes
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Valentines day
Region	Italian
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A tangy, light bean casserole that is made in a pan on top of the hob and is on the table in under half an hour. Succulent chicken breasts are cooked with fragrant cumin, garlic, lemon and cherry tomatoes for a delightfully filling and tasty meal with only 275 calories per portion. (This recipe serves two people, so a total of 550 calories on the recipe, 275 calories per person)

Ingredients

• low-fat cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons low-fat plain Bio-yoghurt
• 100ml vegetable stock (I used Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder)
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• juice and zest of 1 small lemon
• 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, finely chopped and woody stem discarded
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 200g chicken breast fillets, skinless and cut into small pieces
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Note

A tangy, light bean casserole that is made in a pan on top of the hob and is on the table in under half an hour. Succulent chicken breasts are cooked with fragrant cumin, garlic, lemon and cherry tomatoes for a delightfully filling and tasty meal with only 275 calories per portion. (This recipe serves two people, so a total of 550 calories on the recipe, 275 calories per person) Perfect for those following the 5:2 Diet for Fast Days or Weight Watchers. Can be eaten with crusty bread for those not watching their weight!

Directions

Step 1	Heat a large frying pan that has a lid, or a wok and then spray with low-fat cooking spray. Season the chicken breast pieces and then fry for 5 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Step 2	Add the garlic and cumin seeds and stir around the pan until the spices smell fragrant, then add the rosemary, lemon juice and zest, beans, tomatoes, stock and seasoning and stir to combine them all.
Step 3	Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 4	Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a minute or two before adding the yoghurt, stir well and serve in warmed bowls.
Step 5	Serve with crusty bread on a non-fast or diet day.

Lemon Thyme Chicken Kebabs