20 mins plus resting time
Not Too Tricky
serves 8
About the recipe
These quick, super-fresh steak sauce recipes really make those meaty flavours sing!
Ingredients
STEAK
4 x 200g sirloin or rib-eye steaks, ideally 2.5cm thick
olive oil
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 clove of garlic
PEANUT SAUCE
100g shelled roasted monkey nuts (skins removed)
50g sesame seeds
3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 dried smoked chipotle chilli
extra virgin olive oil
1 swig of rum
1 lime
1–2 fresh green chillies
MEXICAN SALSA VERDE
1 bunch of fresh coriander (30g)
1 bunch of fresh mint (30g)
1 clove of garlic
1–2 fresh red or green chillies
4 spring onions
2 ripe tomatoes
1–2 limes
Method
- Take your steaks out of the fridge and let them come up to room temperature.
- For the peanut sauce, toast the nuts and sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for a few minutes until lightly golden. Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic.
- Sprinkle the oregano and cumin seeds into the pan, strip in the thyme, and crumble in the chipotle chilli (or use 1 teaspoon smoked paprika). Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Tip into a blender, drizzle in 100ml of extra virgin olive oil, then add the rum, lime juice, fresh chilli (deseed if you like), and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
- Pour in 200ml of water, whiz until smooth, then have a taste and adjust with a bit more salt, chilli or lime juice, if needed.
- For the salsa, get yourself a good knife and a big chopping board. Reserve a few coriander leaves, then chop the rest (stalks and all). Pick the mint leaves and chop with the coriander.
- Peel the garlic, trim the chilli and spring onions and roughly chop the tomatoes, then add to the herbs and chop and mix together until it’s all very fine.
- Season with salt and pepper, then squeeze in most of the lime juice and add a good lug of extra virgin olive oil. Mix together on the board, then have a taste and tweak, if needed. Scrape into a bowl.
- For the steaks, get a frying pan, griddle pan or barbecue screaming hot and season both sides of the steaks with salt, pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil.
- Place the steaks into the pan, turning every minute until cooked to your liking. I’m going to give you some rough timings, but use your intuition: a 200g steak about 2cm thick wants about 2 minutes each side for medium-rare and 3 minutes each side for medium. As it cooks, whip the meat with the sprig of rosemary and rub it with the cut-side of the garlic clove for extra flavour.
- When the steaks are cooked to your liking, leave to rest for a few minutes, then slice 1cm thick. Spread the peanut sauce over a large serving platter or divide between plates, and place the steak on top.
- Finish with a few dollops of salsa, and scatter over the reserved coriander. Drizzle over any resting juices and let everyone tuck in. Delicious served with Mexican street salad.
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