Thin Cut Beef Steak with Herby Potato Wedges

We got some brilliant thin cut steak from the butcher and so decided to grill it. Added some blanched string beans, grilled courgettes and potato wedges and it was a wholesome meal. I didn't take pics of the final meal because the steaks smoked up and caused my smoke alarm to go off. I, as usual, panicked and then Ro had to turn it off. By then I lost my appetite and was in no mood to style it.

Thin Cut Beef Steak Marinade (for about 6 to 8 thin cut steaks)

Worcestershire Sauce- 3 tbsp

Soy Sauce- 3 tbsp

Chopped Coriander Leaves- 1 tbsp

Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp

Pepper Powder- 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp (optional)

Salt- only if required

Place the steak slices in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper, on both sides. Mix all of the above ingredients and pour over the steak slices. Cover with a cling film and marinate for a minimum of 3 hours in the refrigerator. Bring it back to room temperature before you grill it. Heat a grilling pan and cook the beef, about 2 minutes on each side, for medium rare (which is what we prefer) and since the slices were thin cut, it cooked really fast. If you want it well done, keep it on for a lil more time.

Herby Potato Wedges

Baby Potatoes- 6

Rosemary- 1/2 tsp (i used dry)

Thyme- 1/2 tsp (dry)

Garlic- 4 pods, roughly chopped

Shallots- 2, roughly chopped

Dry red chilli- 4. crushed

Salt- to taste

Oilive oil- 1 tsp

Boil the potatoes with enough water in a saucepan and cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes or till they are just about cooked, but not mashable consistency. Take off flame, keep it to cool and cut into wedges. Alternatives, place the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for about 8 to 10 minutes.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and sauté the shallots, garlic and chilli flakes till lightly brown. Add the potato wedges, herbs, season with salt and sauté well for another 4 to 5 minutes..or till the potato skin becomes lightly brown and crunchy.

You can mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, marinate the potato wedges in it and bake in a preheated oven (170C) for about 20 to 25 minutes, if you have lodsa time.

Can we be more Brit-Dish?

We had the tastiest Brit-dish of all, Bangers and Mash, two days ago and yes, i made it at home. I'm so proud for being able to recreate the exact same thing we've been having at pubs and making a big deal of, when its actually one of the simplest things to make. The first week we were in UK, about 2 years ago, we were staying in a hotel and had to depend on the various restaurants for our daily meals. I wasn't complaining at all. There were so many options and it was indeed the best time to experiment. So on a Sunday afternoon we decided to have brunch at this pub that had advertised their Sunday roast...in fact almost all the pubs had advertised Sunday roasts and we were quite sure we wanted to try the roast that was apparently so popular. So i opted for the chicken roast with mash and veggies and Ro ordered the beef roast with chips. Huge quantities, but unbelievably tasteless and bland to the core. So we put in ketchup and mayo and all the sauces that were available and still it wasn't worth eating. We wasted the entire things and i have vowed never to try out the roasts at a pub ever again. The apple pie with custard was however yummy.

Pub food is very basic and its more or less the same everywhere. Unless its a 'Thai Food' Pub or a 'Mexican Food' pub, they usually have the same fare. I realised I'm actually not a big fan of the usual British fare after my bad experiences with the Sunday roasts, fish and chips and pies ( yes all of them). I usually stuck to burgers and I'm so sick of it now. Bangers and Mash are available only at selected places and once i tried it, i knew it was the best of them all. So I now make it a point to check the menu before i go in. Yes, fussy would be an under statement :)

Bangers (sausages): Beef/ chicken/ pork/ venison- 6 (I used beef)

Extra virgin olive oil- 1 tsp (or just enough to coat a non-stick pan to fry the sausages)

Onion- 1/2, sliced

Button mushrooms- 100gms, sliced

Leek (optional)- 1 (only the white part) (replace with spring onions or shallots)

Salt- as required

Pepper- 1 tsp

Oil- left over from frying the sausage as enough oil oozes out

Colmans sausage casserole sauce mix- 1 packet diluted in half a pint water (replace with chicken/beef stock)

Fry the bangers or even better grill them. Keep aside

In a saucepan heat some oil and sautee onions, mushrooms and leek till soft and fragrant. Add enough salt and pepper and continue. Add the Colmans mix and bring to boil. Add the bangers and simmer.

For the mashed potato. I followed the recipe from BBC. Instead of cream i added milk and cheddar cheese and it tasted just fine.

You can use any vegetable of your choice, I used green peas and carrots blanched and then tossed with a bit of butter and pepper.

Place a spoon full mashed potato in the centre of a plate, arrange the bangers on top and pour the gravy over. Enjoy with a mug of beer and its almost like you are in a British Pub.

Go Green

This is a very simple green bean recipe from Gordon Ramsey and is a great accompaniment to any meal. We had it with a fish bake (will post recipe soon).

Fresh green beans- 200 gms trimmed

Shallot- 1 small finely chopped

Almonds- 2 tbs (optional)

Balsamic Vinegar- 1 1/2 tbs

Blanch the green beans: Drop the trimmed beans into boiling water for about 4 minutes. If not sure its done, take one out and bite into it. It should be crunchy but at the same time cooked to an extent. Keep a bowl of ice cold water (or water with some ice cubes in it) ready and as soon as you remove the beans out of the hot water, plunge it into the ice cold water. This way you are halting the cooking process and the colour and flavour is stored in the beans. Keep it in the cold water for a few minutes and then remove and place on a kitchen towel and dry.

Place the beans on a plate, scatter the shallots and the diced almonds on the beans and sprinkle the balsamic vinegar. If you want, you can also season with salt and pepper before you sprinkle the vinegar.

Serve as a side to any dish.