ilyadaysRecipes

Sous vide

Sous vide beets

Vegetables need a much hotter bath than meat: at 85 °C the pectin that holds beets firm breaks down, so they turn tender while keeping all their flavour and colour in the bag. Make a batch, chill it, and use it all week.

500 g batch · 3–4 sides~2–3 h, mostly hands-off
Sous vide beets

Mise en place — set out in the order it goes in

  1. Beets
    Beetspeeled, quarteredStep 3
  2. Bag seasoning
    Bag seasoning
    • oil
    • salt
    • vinegar
    • thyme
    • garlic
    Step 3
  3. Ice bath
    Ice bathfor chilling afterStep 5

Prep order — what happens when, and what overlaps

h:mm
0:000:301:001:302:002:303:00
Peel + quarter (gloves) 15 min
Heat bath to 85 °C 25 min
25 min
Season + vacuum seal 7 min
Cook quarters ~2 h 2 h
2 h
Ice bath 18 min
18 min
BoardWater bathBowl / counterHands-off

Step by step

  1. Preheat the bath

    1Preheat the bath

    15–30 min
    • Set the circulator to 85 °C.
    • Prep while it heats.
  2. Gloves on: peel with a vegetable peeler.
    Gloves on: peel with a vegetable peeler.
    Cut each beet into quarters — fingertips tucked.
    Cut each beet into quarters — fingertips tucked.

    2Peel and quarter

    ~15 min

    For this step

    • Red beets500 g (~3 medium)

    Wear gloves. Peel with a vegetable peeler and cut each beet into quarters.

    Peel and quarter
    Should look like this
  3. Seal with the vacuum sealer.
    Seal with the vacuum sealer.

    3Season and vacuum seal

    ~5 min
    • Bag the beets in a single layer with (thyme and garlic optional):
      • olive oil 1 tbsp
      • salt ½ tsp
      • vinegar (red wine, balsamic or rice) 1 tsp
      • thyme 2 sprigs
      • garlic 1 clove
    • Seal with the vacuum sealer.
    Season and vacuum seal
    Should look like this
  4. Check: squeeze a piece through the bag with a towel — it should give like a cooked potato.
    Check: squeeze a piece through the bag with a towel — it should give like a cooked potato.

    4Cook

    85 °C bath~2 h
    Clip the bag to the side and weigh it down — vegetables float, and the bag can puff up as it cooks.
    CutTime at 85 °C
    Quarters, medium beetsabout 2 h
    Quarters, large beets2–2½ h
    Check: squeeze a piece through the bag with a towel — it should give like a cooked potato. Still firm? Another 30 minutes. A little over is fine; they just get softer.
    Cook
    Should look like this
  5. Chill or serve warm

    5Chill or serve warm

    15–20 min

    To store, drop the sealed bag into ice water for 15–20 minutes, then refrigerate unopened and use within 5 days.

  6. Serve

    6Serve

    For this step

    • Feta or goat cheesecrumbled
    • Flaky salt + olive oilto finish
    • Warm, with:
      • butter
      • flaky salt
    • Or cold, with:
      • crumbled feta or goat cheese
      • walnuts toasted
      • dill chopped
      • a splash of vinegar
      • olive oil
    • They also go well tossed with the cucumber pickle dressing.