Small Man is a committed carnivore.
He will routinely consume half of whatever meat we put on the table. I suspect it’s a product of being in his mid-teens – Big Boy did exactly the same thing at that age. Small Man seems to be laying on muscle before our very eyes and for him, that entails a hefty protein intake.
Last week I defrosted a large slab of sublime Cape Grim scotch fillet. We cut it into seven steaks – one each for Pete, Big Boy and I, and two for Small Man. We hid the remaining two before he could ask for a third.
Pete has a deft touch with steaks, providing you’re happy to eat them rare. And with this incredibly tender grass-fed meat, grown in the cleanest air in the world, it would be a great shame to cook them any longer than absolutely necessary. The two extra steaks were seared and then stashed in the fridge overnight…
The following evening, we assembled a modified version of the Rare Thai Beef Salad recipe from Jill Dupleix’s Totally Simple Food…
The steaks were allowed to come to room temperature, then sliced and topped with a dressing of:
- half a Spanish onion, finely sliced and rinsed in boiling water (to mellow out the sharpness)
- a few chopped spring onions
- herbs from our garden – mint, coriander, parsley and the last of the basil
- one of our homegrown bishops’ crown chillies, deseeded and sliced
- the juice of half a lime
- 2 teaspoons light soy
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
We whisked together the lime juice, soy, fish sauce, sesame oil and sugar (quantities adjusted to taste), then stirred in the remaining ingredients.
The salad was delicious served with steamed rice. Definitely a dish we’ll make again, and a great way to use up leftover steak!
PS. It wasn’t nearly enough to fill Small Man, who ate two oven roasted duck marylands as well!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 