The sun is shining and we are all looking for recipes that are tasty, fresh and delicious. Here’s a yummy grass fed meat steak salad recipe I created for my family which went down a real storm. I served this up on a big sharing platter so they could self serve. This can be a great way to encourage fussier eaters to try something new and to have some input over what goes on their plate.
This would also be a great dinner party meal. I was feeding a family of 8, basically a dinner party but noisier!
The steak in this recipe was gifted to me from Swaledale Butchers who offer grass fed meat, that arrives at your door vacuumed packed and ready to cook. The meat was all very high quality. I rarely eat meat but when it is something this good quality you have to have a taste. So I made myself a halloumi version of this dish and had some steak to taste.
Why use grass fed meat?
Grass fed meat is lower in overall fat as well as being higher in heart healthy omega 3’s fatty acids. Whilst the saturated fat content does not look dissimilar research shows that it is lower in cholesterol increasing fats. Nutritionally grass fed meat is also higher in vitamins A,D and E than the non grass fed version. It has been suggested that switching to grass fed meat would help improve dietary fat quality in the UK.
Obviously there is a cost element involved here. Feeding a family of 8 I am well aware of the cost of food. One way we reduce costs is to use smaller portions of meat in meals and to have several meat free meals each week.
Right back to that recipe…
Steak salad using grass fed meat
Equipment
- 1 griddle pan
- 1 frying pan
- 1 large bowl
- 1 serving platter
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 courgette in thick finger slices
- 1 medium aubergine in chunks
- 2 peppers in thick slices
- 240g dried couscous
- 360ml boiling water
- 1/4 red cabbage, sliced thinly
- 1/2 head broccoli, cooked
- 100g halloumi, sliced
- 300g grass fed steak
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cucumber
- 4 tbsp chopped fresh herbs
- seasoning
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- To speed this recipe up you can simply chop the courgette, aubergine, pepper and roast in the over with a drizzle of olive oil at 180C fan oven for 30 minutes, Stir part way through.
- Or as I did, you can use a griddle pan and cook on that to get the griddle marks on your vegetables.
- Make the couscous in a large bowl by pouring the hot water over, setting a plate or lid on top and set aside
- Whilst the couscous expands, have the steak ready to cook, bringing it to room temperature.
- Start preparing the rest of the vegetables. Slice the red cabbage and cucumber and cook the broccoli.
- Griddle your halloumi for a few minutes per side.
- Now cook the steak for just a few minutes per side, either on a griddle or in a frying pan. Then set this aside on a plate to rest.
- Lay the coucous on your serving dish. Top with all the vegetables and the halloumi.
- Make your dressing with the olive oil, lemon juice and herbs, whisk it up.
- Chop and arrange the steak on top and drizzle on ther dressing. Finish with some ground black pepper.
Notes
Whilst I used the griddle plate on my range cooker, you could roast those veggies in the oven and even do this part the day before.
Here are some of the steps making the recipe. Firstly cooking the vegetables. Then the steak. Finally putting it all together on the platter.
Feedback from my foodie child “That was yum mum, you can make it again”. If its a win with her it’s a good recipe!