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Here's a salmon recipe for our complicated times

Photo by MICHELLE BAKER

The sous vide technique has swept through the kitchens of every major restaurant.

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By GREG and MICHELLE BAKER

Tribune correspondents

Published: November 6, 2009

Last week we were sitting in our home office getting ye olde office work done when a Gmail instant-message popped up.

This wasn't unusual since we use Gmail to ask quick questions of food purveyors, friends, family, etc. This time, it was from our neighbor who lives directly across the street.

She was asking who we used to cut our lawn. We both scratched our heads at this question. Not because it's obvious we do not use a lawn service (the weeds and tall grass should be a dead giveaway) but because she IM-ed us rather than knocking on our door or even hollering from her porch.

At the time, Greg was writing new recipes. They were molecular gastronomy recipes, which are — in the culinary realm — very complicated.

That's when it all became clear. The modern world has moved far beyond any semblance of ease.

Nowadays, just enrolling your kids in school involves stacks of forms with questions about vouchers and special programs and layers of contact numbers and e-mails. Back in our day, parents dragged the kids into the office, signed a piece of paper and within five minutes, our fannies were in the front row of Mr. Deflesen's American History class.

It's no wonder Rachael Ray has made a gajillion dollars off saving time in the kitchen.

Well, Rachael Ray we are not. We say that if the world wants to be complicated, let it be.

In keeping with the times, we offer a very modern, very complicated recipe. Sous Vide swept through the kitchens of every major restaurant. It uses all sorts of gadgets. But with a few modifications, the home cook can master this far-more-complicated-than-it-needs-to-be technique.

Visit the Sherpas at www.cooksncompany.com and www.culinarysherpas.com.

SALMON SOUS VIDE

1½ cups sea or kosher salt

1 quart water

2 pounds crushed ice

4 each salmon fillets

1 teaspoon 5 spice powder

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 Ziploc or similar brand bags

Heat the water and salt together in a pot until the salt dissolves. Remove from heat and add the ice, stirring well to cool the water. Add the salmon fillets to the salt water for 20 minutes. (This will set the proteins and prevent the weird, stringy white albumin from escaping).

Remove the salmon from the saltwater and pat dry. Rub each fillet with sesame oil and dust with 5 spice powder. Place in the Ziploc bags and press out all of the air before sealing. (Vacuum sealing is preferable, but we don't expect you to go out and buy a sealer for just one project.) Heat a pot of water on the stovetop to 122 degrees, measured with a candy thermometer (available in almost any grocery store). If the water gets too hot, cool it with a couple of ice cubes. Add the salmon and let it sit for 20 minutes at 122 degrees, monitoring to ensure that the temperature remains constant.

Remove the salmon from the bags and serve.

Serves 4.

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