Steak

Autumn days… with a seared steak salad

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The beautiful colours of autumn in Franschhoek, close to Cape Town

Autumn is my favourite season.  Ok, so getting up in the mornings for work while it is dark is not the greatest – nor is getting home and it being dark again – but it still does not take away from the things I love about this time of the year:

  • The sun rising over the mountains while I travel to work (no matter how bad the traffic, it brings a smile to my face)
  • The beautiful orange, yellow, red and brown leaves on the trees
  • Lighting the fireplace for the first time since the previous winter
  • Snuggling under a blanket on the couch watching my favourite sports (rugby, the Tour de France and F1)
  • But the best of all… gorgeous blue sky days that are not too hot or too cold so that a person can just laze about outside while soaking up a bit of sun and breathing in the crisp autumn air

And even better, we are always lucky that the best of those days are seemingly reserved for a Saturday or Sunday, which means that I have the pleasure of enjoying it for myself, instead of just staring at it longingly through the window by my desk!

Days like this won’t be complete without a perfect little lunch to go with it (and some bubbly of course!)  And is there a better way to celebrate the outdoors than by having a braai (or a barbeque for those not from SA)?!  So looking at the weather for the weekend it seems like we are in for another stunner of a day on Sunday.  And while I don’t know what will find its way on to the lunch table this time, I still have fond memories of what hubby made last Sunday – inspired by a South African chef, Ruben Riffel.  Let’s just say a fire was lit, a braai was made and a good time was had by all!  Yum!

So if you are looking for something light and delicious to enjoy this weekend, how about giving this salad a try?  Whether you make it on a braai, use your barbeque or  a grill, get out there and enjoy!

Seared steak with horseradish, fig and rocket salad

(serves 2)

For the meat:

300g sirloin steak

Freshly ground salt and black pepper to taste

For the salad and vinaigrette:

Big handful of rocket leaves

4 ripe figs

12 caper berries

½ cup parmesan cheese shavings

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 lemon

For the horseradish cream:

2 tablespoons creamed horseradish

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon of sugar

Method:

  1. To make the horseradish cream, mix all the ingredients well and set to the side.
  2. Remove the meat from the fridge at least 20 minutes before putting in on the braai/barbeque. Season with freshly ground salt and black pepper.
  3. Place the meat on the braai/barbeque and cook over a high heat on both sides until seared on the outside.  Best served medium, which should take about 8 minutes on each side. Remove from the heat, wrap in foil and rest for 5 minutes.
  4. Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic together
  5. Slice the figs and capers
  6. Place the rocket at the bottom of your serving dish.
  7. Slice the meat in thin slices and arrange on top of the rocket.
  8. Scatter the figs, capers and parmesan shavings over the top.
  9. Drizzle with the vinaigrette.
  10. Squeeze over some lemon juice and serve with dollops of the horseradish.

If you have any recipe ideas that I could try on these beautiful autumn days, feel free to comment and let me know!

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Italian style Bistecca

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The beautiful Ponte Vecchio

One of my favourite parts of Florence is Piazza della Signoria.  It is located near the imposing Ponte Vecchio, spanning the Arno River.  It is truly the ‘open air art museum’ so many travel books refer to.  Walking in between the copy of Michelangelo’s David, Perseus with Medusa’s head and the Medici lions, you can’t help but feel like a culture vulture!  And, if that is not enough arts for you, the Uffizi Gallery is just around the corner.

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The Palazzo Vecchio on the Piazza della Signoria

Hubby and I chose the perfect day for an outing to Uffizi: windy, with thunder clouds looming in the sky.  We started out all excited, admiring each piece of art we walked by.  Slowly the admiration turned to awe as we marvelled at the hall upon hall, each filled with exquisite art and sculptures.  But as the hours passed, the wonderment slowly started turning into a feeling of trepidation, especially when we realised that after four hours we probably did not even see half of the things on display yet.  And when we finally arrived at the Uffizi rooftop café and even it was closed, desperation took over and I thought to myself that I might never make it out alive again!

 

Luckily we eventually managed to find our escape and headed towards the Piazza del Duomo.  On the way there the clouds finally gave in and it started to pour down with rain.  After our exhausting day I really started to feel sorry for myself (and my feet in particular), when hubby spotted a little trattoria.  What a lovely place.  The décor was so special; wagon wheels against the walls, filled with wine corks!  The aroma from the kitchen made our mouths water.  So with a lovely glass of Chianti in hand, we studied the menu and finally decided on a wild boar stew (have to try something new every now and again) and a bistecca Fiorentina for supper.  Red wine and red meat, just the thing to comfort you after a long and tiring day!  Hubby had the wild boar and it was truly delicious, with a rich tomato based sauce.  The steak was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much for me to finish but was really cooked to perfection.  (However, not the best thing to have this meal if you still need to walk back to your hotel afterwards!)

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The little haven we discovered!

Seeing that this was a particularly trying week for me, what better way to start off the weekend than with the comfort food that includes some good meat and good wine.  So with that said, buon appetito!

Italian style Bistecca 

(serves 2)

Ingredients:

2 T-bone steaks (about 350g each)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon chopped thyme (fresh)

Salt and pepper to taste

300 ml chicken stock

2 corn on the cob

125g polenta

200g baby spinach

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method:

  1. Fill a pot with water, enough so that it will cover the corn, and bring to the boil.
  2. Once the water reaches boiling point, add the corn and boil for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove from the water, rub with half the butter and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Place the corn on a griddle pan and char the the corn slightly.
  5. When done, slice off the kernels (holding the corn upright and cutting top to bottom).  Set aside.
  6. Add the chicken stock to a pot and bring to the boil.
  7. Add the polenta to the stock by whisking it in. Cook for 25 minutes, until creamy.
  8. Rub the steaks with the olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper.
  9. Get your griddle pan really hot and fry for 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and cover the meat with some foil.  Leave the meat to rest for 10 minutes.
  10. Heat a little butter in a pan and add the spinach and corn.  Just warm it through so that the spinach wilts.
  11. When serving, place the polenta on the plate and put the steak on top of the polenta.
  12. Place the spinach and corn on top of the steak.
  13. Drizzle the left-over meat juices over the steak and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

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