Mmmm, steak. Steak and salad is one of our staples at home and it regularly crops up as a quick and satisfying midweek supper. Today’s variation is a take on the classic Italian tagliata, beef steak sliced into ‘ribbons’, which featured heavily on the menus in Sardinia when we were there. It was often served with a rocket and parmesan garnish which I have bolstered into a full blown salad and topped with a punchy salad dressing. My boyfriend, who comprehensively sampled the tagliata in Sardinia, informs me that this dish is up to scratch – he is undoubtedly biased so you’ll have to try it to believe it…

Beautiful juicy pink tagliata of beef on a bed of peppery rocket and sweet tomatoes, topped with slivers of salty parmesan and a sharp sweet sticky smooth dressing. (See how this all ties in perfectly with my last post? Mwahaha…)

Midweek bliss (and with such a posh name, also perfect for ever-so-slightly-snobby guests!).

Hot beef tagliata, rocket & parmesan salad

Serves 2 as a main

Ingredients:

– 2 x 200-300g (depending on appetite!) rump steaks
– 2 teaspoons olive oil
– salt & pepper
– 1 portion The Bee’s Knees salad dressing (you won’t need all of it)
– 75g rocket
– 250g good quality cherry tomatoes, halved
– small handful fresh flat parsley, chopped
– handful parmesan shavings
– ciabatta, to serve (optional and use gluten-free bread if you’re GF!)

Method:

Rub the steaks on both sides with the olive oil and pepper and let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Tip: Do NOT season with salt at this point – the salt will suck out all of the meat’s juices.

Make the salad dressing – click here for the recipe and instructions (don’t worry, it’s easy peasy).

Place a dry frying pan on a high heat. Once seriously hot, add the steaks and fry on each side for about 2 minutes, until they are nice and charred. Tip: To get the steaks to seal properly, it helps to push them down firmly with a spatula. Turn the heat down a little and continue frying the steaks, turning every 30 seconds or so, until they are cooked to your taste. Tip: For most steaks, it takes 2-3 minutes for rare, 3-4 for medium rare.

Once cooked, take off the heat, season with salt and allow to rest and relax under foil for a couple of minutes. Tip: This is when the juices will run out so make sure you catch them all!

Arrange the rocket and tomatoes on a serving platter, slice the beef into ribbons and pop them on top of the salad. Drizzle generously with the salad dressing and meat juices and top with parsley and parmesan.

Serve immediately with warm ciabatta. Phwaaaaaar!

Mouth-wateringly tasty

Source: Recipe and photos from pip & little blue.