Mounds of Food

I love it whenI literally have to mound a meal onto my plate, piling on the pieces, trying to stop stray pieces of steak or carrot from rolling onto the bench because the plate can not contain the deliciousness. Admittedly, my plate is not large, and the food is mainly vegetables, but despite this it makes the meal feel generous. The only problem with this is that mounds of food don’t photograph well. I’m thinking that maybe chefs are onto something with their minimalist presentation – it makes the food look better.

Tonight’s Korean steak is meant to be served in lettuce cups. I failed at making the lettuce cups. No matter how carefully I tried to separate the lettuce leaves, they split into pieces. That’s why the recipe turned into Korean steak on a heap of lettuce instead of being daintily spooned into delicate bowls of lettuce. It’s not attractive but it tastes good.

Celery and carrots are quickly cooked in a fry pan with a  little water and then marinated steak is added, followed by spring onion and sesame seeds. The marinade is sweet, spicy & salty with soy, garlic, ginger, sugar, cayenne pepper and sesame oil. Serving the cooked meat and vegetables on top of lettuce was a refreshing, summery change from rice and something I haven’t tried before but definitely will again.

Korean Steak Recipe (adapted from GoodHouseKeeping.com)

(serves 2)

Ingredients

• 225g steak, cut into small cubes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 stalks celery, chopped finely
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 spring onion, chopped finely
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• Lettuce leaves

Method

1. Cut steak into small cubes and marinate it in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger & cayenne pepper
2. While steak is marinating, chop celery stalks finely, grate the carrot and slice the spring onion
3. Heat a fry pan to a medium-high temperature and add celery, carrot and 1/4 cup water. Cook for 2-3 minutes until celery is heated through and beginning to cook
4. Add steak and its marinade. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often, until the steak has just browned on all surfaces
5. Add the spring onion and sesame seeds and cook for a further minute
6. Serve in lettuce leaf cups (good luck) or on a pile of shredded lettuce. Enjoy.

Related articles

• Looks Are Deceiving … (orderenvy.wordpress.com)
• Tuna with pineapple salsa & snow peas (orderenvy.wordpress.com)

Celebrating Spring

The arrival of spring is such an exciting time of the year. Blossoms. Ducklings. Daffodils. My birthday.Sunshine. Dresses. Asparagus. I love spring and the flavours of spring but I still struggle to cook seasonally. I blame reading food blogs written by people in the Northern Hemisphere. It takes some restraint to bookmark all the pumpkin recipes appearing online and not succumb to ‘order envy’ and to embrace what is in season here.

Spring is the season for asparagus, avocados, beetroot, courgette, cucumber and tangelo so I’ll be trying to make the most of these ingredients being cheap and at their tastiest in the coming weeks. I’m terrible at remembering what is in season when, but the Healthy Food Guide has a great reference chart you can easily glance at to see what fruits and veges are available when.

This stir-fry is very simple. It consists of just orange, pork and asparagus, seasoned and flavoured with a little olive oil and garlic. The flavour combination may seem strange but is light and fresh. I think a cool glass of white wine would have just made it… next time.

Pork, Asparagus & Orange Stir Fry Recipe
(adapted from Good House Keeping)

(serves 2 or 4 if served with rice)

Ingredients

• 200g pork, sliced into strips (use a bit more pork if serving 4)
• 500g (2 bunches) asparagus, stalks halved
• 2 oranges
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Grate 1 teaspoon of rind from the first orange and squeeze 1/4 cup of orange juice from it. Set aside.
2. Cut the skin and pitch (white bitter coating under the skin) from the second orange. Cut the flesh 8 wedges and then cut each wedge into 3 or 4 pieces.
3. Heat the olive oil in a fry pan over a medium-high heat and stir fry the pork until just cooked. (Don’t over cook it as I did or it will be chewy). Remove pork from pan and set aside.
4. Add asparagus to pan with orange rind, garlic and 1/4 cup of water. Cover the pan and cook for two minutes until the asparagus is bright green and tender crisp.
5. Add orange juice, pork & orange pieces. Heat through.
6. Season with salt and pepper then serve.

Related articles

• Beef with Asparagus and Mushrooms (orderenvy.wordpress.com)

Beef with Asparagus and Mushrooms

If I could post smells instead of pictures on this blog, then today it would be the smell of these vegetables cooking. The asparagus, onion, mushrooms cooking in olive oil, rosemary, garlic and lemon juice were fragrant and made the kitchen smell incredible.

Asparagus being back made me a happy grocery shopper this morning and I had to try it out in this South Beach recipe for Beef with Asparagus and Mushrooms. I’m no fan of the South Beach diet – I’m too much of a carbohydrate lover to follow it but I have found that the website has some really, really delicious, nutrient packed meal ideas.

This dish is very simple – pan-fried steak and sautéed vegetables. The addition of garlic, rosemary and especially the lemon zest takes it from being potentially boring to something to get excited about (unless I’m the only one who gets excited about a good feed?!).  I’ve re-written the recipe here in metric measurements and for 2 portions instead of 4.

Beef with Asparagus and Mushrooms (from the South Beach Diet)

(serves 2)

Ingredients

• 2 portions of steak
• 1T olive oil
• 2t dried rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, roughly diced
• 1 bunch asparagus, with spears cut into thirds
• 250g mushrooms, sliced
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground

Method

1. Score the steak with diagonal lines
2. Rub 1t rosemary, 1 clove garlic into the steak and season with salt and pepper
3. Heat 1/2T of oil over a medium-high heat and fry steak for ~4 minutes on each side (for medium-rare)
4. Cover the meat with foil while preparing the vegetables.
5. Reduce heat to medium and heat the remaining 1/2T of oil
6. Sauté onion for 2 minutes
7. Add remaining garlic and stir through
8. Add mushrooms and asparagus, cook for 5 minutes until asparagus is cooked through but still crisp and mushrooms are turning golden brown
9. Add the lemon zest and remaining 1t of rosemary
8. Season with salt and pepper before serving

If you’re like me and get grumpy with-out some carbs or you’re hungry I’d recommend serving this with some boiled baby potatoes. Mm.