Set it, forget it, and eat a perfectly cooked pork chop or piece of salmon. Every. Single. Time.

For anyone who has eaten only dry pork chops, sous vide pork chops will be a revelation: They’re juicy, tender, and packed with flavor. I prefer the taste and marbling of pork from heritage breeds (like Berkshire) over the typical mass-produced pork, which has been bred to be as lean as possible, but sous vide will produce succulent results in either case. The fat cap is an important element of this recipe, since it renders and is used to cook the vegetables, so be sure to look for a chop with a good amount of fat left on.

This recipe is a good example of how cooking sous vide can be time efficient: The vegetables can be cut while the pork is cooking, so the dish comes together quickly. It’s also a great way to showcase summer produce, but pork chops are delicious year-round, so in winter or fall, swap out the corn, beans, and peppers for in-season vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. Just follow the same procedure for charring them one by one with the rendered pork fat.

1. Preheat your sous vide water bath to 58°C (136.4°F). 
2. Place the pork chops in a gallon-size freezer-safe ziplock bag in a single layer with no overlap (you may need two bags, depending on the size of the chops), then seal using the water displacement method.
3. When the water reaches the target temperature, lower the bagged pork chops into your sous vide bath (making sure the bag is fully submerged) and cook for 1 hour. 
4. When the chops are ready, remove the bag from the water. Line a platter or tray with paper towels and transfer the chops to the platter, discarding the liquid in the bag. Pat the chops thoroughly dry with more paper towels and then season them on both sides with the cumin, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Rub the chops on both sides with 1 teaspoon of the oil, which will help the meat brown evenly in the pan. 
5. Preheat the oven to 175°F. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Grab the pork chops with tongs and place them, fat side down, in the pan, holding them together on their side with the tongs to allow the fat cap to render and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Once the fat has finished rendering, lay the chops down in the pan and brown (the spices on the meat will cause it to brown quickly), turning once, about 1 minute per side. (Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to cook the chops in two batches.)
6. Transfer the chops to a heatproof plate or sheet pan and keep warm in the oven until you’re ready to serve. The skillet will be coated with rendered pork fat. Pour all but 1 teaspoon of the fat into a small heatproof bowl and set aside to use for cooking the rest of the vegetables. If the chops don’t render enough fat to yield 1 teaspoon to cook each vegetable (at least 2 tablespoons total), add olive oil to make up the difference. 
7. Add the corn and a pinch of kosher salt to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the kernels blister and char, about 2 minutes. Transfer the corn to a bowl. Repeat this process to cook the remaining succotash vegetables (beans, Padrón peppers, bell pepper, and onion) one at a time, adding 1 teaspoon of the reserved rendered fat (or olive oil) and a pinch of salt to the pan before each addition, and transferring each cooked vegetable to the bowl holding the corn.
8. When all of the vegetables have been cooked, add 1 teaspoon of the rendered fat to the pan, add the garlic, and sauté over medium-high heat just until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the reserved cooked succotash vegetables and heat just until warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and return the vegetables to the bowl. Stir in the lime juice and basil and season with salt and pepper. 
9. To serve, divide the succotash among individual plates and top with a pork chop. If you are serving more than four people, transfer the pork chops to a cutting board, cut the meat off the bone, slice the meat on a slight diagonal against the grain, and divide the slices among the plates, arranging them on the succotash. 

If you’ve never eaten sous vide salmon, prepare to be wowed. This is not the dry, stringy salmon you’ve had at wedding buffets; the buttery texture will convert even the finicky. I find this the ideal way to enjoy salmon, but if you prefer a firmer, more traditional texture and opaque color, cook the salmon for the same amount of time at 60°C. In this recipe, the finished salmon gets topped with a sprinkle of shichimi togarashi, a.k.a. “seven-flavor chile pepper,” a Japanese spice blend that typically includes sesame seeds, citrus zest, and seaweed in addition to coarsely ground dried chile. If you cannot find it, a mixture of toasted sesame seeds and cayenne pepper can replace it here, as the idea is to add a kick of flavor, color, and crunchiness to the custardy salmon.

1. Preheat your sous vide water bath to 52°C (125.5°F).
2. While the water is heating, combine the water, salt, and sugar in a wide bowl and stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Place the salmon pieces in this brine and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the salmon from the brine and rinse it under cold running water to wash off the excess. Pat the salmon dry with a paper towel. Rub the salmon pieces evenly with the canola oil. Place the salmon in a single layer in a gallon-size freezer-safe ziplock bag and seal using the water displacement method.
4. When the water reaches the target temperature, lower the bagged salmon into the water bath (making sure the bag is fully submerged) and cook for 20 minutes. When the fish is done, it will have turned an opaque pink and will be very delicate, so handle it with care or it will fall apart.
5. While the fish is cooking, make the miso vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together the miso, lemon juice, mustard, honey, and ginger until blended. Slowly pour in the canola and sesame oils in a thin, steady stream while whisking continuously to emulsify. Set the vinaigrette aside.
6. When the salmon is ready, gently remove it from the bag and transfer it to a platter or tray. If the salmon pieces were cooked with the skin on and you would like to serve them without the skin, it is extremely easy to remove it now. Simply pull it off, starting at one edge and lifting it off in one piece.
7. Just before serving, toss the fennel and pea shoots with the vinaigrette, starting with half of the vinaigrette and adding more to taste. If you like salads lightly dressed, you won’t want to use all of it.
8. To serve, arrange the salad on four individual plates, place the warm salmon on top, and sprinkle with the shichimi togarashi.