Steak Night – #FFF

Steak night went down an absolute treat this week!

As always, I try to keep things as simple as possible.

Leonardo da Vinci once said:

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

So there you go… Little old me… “Sophisticated.”

I think I have caught this simplistic style from Gaz constantly banging his minimalist drum around me!

Serves: 3 (with some sweet potato wedges left over)

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Steak and vegetables ingredients:

• 3 steaks (whatever steak you like)
• 1 bag of leafy green salad (or fresh spinach, rocket and watercress)
• 9 asparagus spears
• 3 handfuls of Kale
• 6 florets of broccoli

Creamy mustard mushroom sauce ingredients:

• Drizzle of olive oil
• 8-10 mushrooms
• ½ white onion
• ½ clove of garlic
• 2 teaspoons of English mustard
• Dash of skimmed milk

Sweet potato wedges ingredients:

• 4-5 sweet potatoes
• 2 egg whites
• 1 clove of garlic
• Herbs and spices to your taste (I used paprika, black pepper and tikka powder)
• Drizzle of olive oil

Method

Sweet potato wedges – Between 10 and 30 minutes

This is a pretty standard recipe that can be used as a side to soooo many dishes! Once you learn this, you always have a side dish in your locker, regardless of the meal! Also check out our recipe for Sweet Potato Crisps/Chips which are just thinner versions of wedges.

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into wedges roughly the same size (you want them all to cook at the same time – thinner or smaller wedges will cook quicker than thicker or larger ones)..
2. Place them all in a dish.
3. Mix the wedges with the egg whites of two eggs so they become sticky.
4. Mix in your garlic, herbs and spices to taste.
5. Place them into a baking tray (or several in my case).
6. Drizzle over olive oil so they do not stick to the tray.
7. Pop into the oven at 400°F/200°C/Gas mark 6.
8. Take out after 10 minutes to see how the wedges are cooking and to turn them over.Keep doing this until your wedges are cooked.

Creamy mustard mushroom sauce – 5 Minutes maximum

This sauce went down really well with my family. Be warned, it is rather mustardy but the kick takes the sweetness away from the wedges and compliments the steak beautifully. Again, like the wedges, you can use this sauce in a number of meals – feel free to experiment, that’s what makes cooking so fun!

1. Add oil to your frying pan.
2. Fry the onions, mushrooms and garlic in the oil – You can just start by sautéing the onions and garlic before adding the mushrooms if you like but I like my mushrooms well done!
3. Once the onions, garlic and mushrooms are nice and soft (cooked to your liking), add the mustard and milk. MAKE SURE THAT YOU ADD THE MUSTARD AND MILK RIGHT AT THE END OF COOKING! YOU DO NOT WANT THE MILK TO CURDLE!

Steaks – 5 minutes maximum

The key to a good steak is the quality of the meat! Cooking is relatively simple… And yes, I am going to plug my trusty George Foreman grill again! 🙂

I know I say this a lot, but that grill is the answer to all of your cooking needs! If I had to choose one item of equipment in my kitchen to live with, it would be that baby (if I had electricity of course).

You want a good cut of lean, grass fed, pasture raised steak from your local butcher or, even better, farmer. If you know where your steak comes from, you have a good idea of the quality of the animal’s life and also what it consumed while it was alive (because ultimately it is passed on to you).

1. Ask your guests how they like their steak (my father and I like ours medium-rare, a little bloody and my mother likes it a bit more well-done).
2. Lay the steak on the grill.
3. Shut the lid for a minute or so.
4. Turn the steak over and cook for another minute or so depending on how much your guest likes it to be cooked.
5. When it is cooked, just flip it about 4 or 5 times on each side and you will see it become a little juicier. I don’t know why but it works for me!
6. Then put it on a plate and THIS IS THE IMPORTANT BIT!!! – LEAVE IT TO REST FOR AT LEAST A COUPLE OF MINUTES!

Family appreciation!

It was a huge thumbs up from my family this week! They really enjoyed the meal and of course, the company! I thought the sauce may have been a bit too peppery; however, as I mentioned above, the kick worked perfectly with the sweetness of the sweet potato wedges.

All in all a huge success and once you learn any part of this dish (sweet potato wedges, mushroom sauce or steak) you can pretty much cook a meal that anyone would like!

Sweet…