Summer kind of took me by surprise this year. The past three days have been incredibly hot, which yes I'm always yearning for, but at the same time, working in a very hot kitchen in this weather is not really that much fun. Still, hello sunshine!
We've just come back from three weeks in New Zealand (winter) and I'm still quite jet lagged. I wasn't expecting to be greeted by the heat so it really has knocked me for 6 a bit. Every day after work this week I've come home and napped. My body obviously needs to recuperate. Either that or after having three weeks off work I've become incredibly lazy.
The holiday was amazing though. For anyone who has never been to NZ I highly recommend the trip. It's such a beautiful place and even in the winter it was stunning. We had perfect weather and it only rained twice the whole time we were there. That's what I'm saying to everyone who asks about my trip to New Zealand. Because I'm British and we talk about the weather. One thing that actually astounded me was I didn't do any cooking the entire time I was there. I made some sandwiches and some garlic bread and that was as complicated as it got. Now that I'm back, I've been cooking easy things to work up to the more complicated stuff.
Obviously chicken wings was one of the first things I made - uncomplicated and delicious. What else is summery and filling and as simple as you can get? Steak. I know right! I used my Middle Eastern influences to make this unbelievably refreshing (it's also filling. I mean, really filling).
Exotic Steak Salad
For the marinade:
3 cloves garlic, minced finely
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
Salt & pepper
For the dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1tsp pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
For the salad :
1 bag of ready washed rocket
1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 spring onion, finely sliced
15 cm length of cucumber (I know right), finely sliced
seeds of half a pomegranate
2 good quality sirloin steaks (or whatever cut you like but sirloin works a treat)
Once the steak has marinated this recipe takes a grand total of 10 minutes. You can either marinate the steaks in a ziplock bag or in a bowl. Rub each side with the salt, pepper and garlic and pour the liquids into the bowl or the bag and smoosh the steak and liquid together. Leave in the fridge marinating for at least an hour - longer if you can.
Pour all of the salad dressing ingredients into a jam jar and with the lid on, shake it all to combine. When you're ready to start cooking the steak, heat a dry frying pan on quite a high heat. When the pan is hot, lay the steaks in for 3 minutes on one side, not moving it and then the same on the other side for 2 minutes.. Rest the meat for 5 minutes on a chopping board.
Start assembling the salad on a platter. Layer the rocket then the coriander then the spring onions getting the greens out of the way. Then add the cucumber and then tomato and pomegranate. Drizzle over the dressing. Cut the steak into strips and arrange them over the top. Serve and enjoy every scrumptious morsel.