Cuban Mojo Beef Salad

I first had Mojo Beef Salad some time ago in Electric bar. It was so tasty. Recently I have been looking for different ways to prepare steak dinners so I pottered around the internet for a while and decided to try my own version of Mojo Beef Salad. And here it is!

I know, this is pretty much a first. A salad from me that does not include any cheese or creamy sauce. Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf! However the flavours in this are so light, zesty and fresh that you won’t miss any of the heavy stuff. It’s little taste of Summer, even if it is raining outside.

From my amateur research, it would seem there are many versions of mojo sauce. I’ve gone with the Cuban version which is traditionally made with sour orange juice. I have no access to sour oranges here – at least none that are supposed to be sour – and to make up for this I’ve added lime juice to the marinade. There is also plenty of garlic involved.

The best part of this is that the marinade and dressing are made from the same mixture. I marinade the beef with the raw sauce. There is quite a strong taste of raw garlic from it, which I very much like. However, I know others are not always keen on the raw taste. To remedy this, for the dressing I boil the remaining marinade to lightly cook the garlic. Leave it raw if you like garlic.

 

Useful tips & links:

• The beef needs time to marinate, allow at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
• This marinade can also be used with fish or chicken. It is best used fresh but will keep in a sealed jar for several days in the fridge.
• Pair the beef with any salad you like, I love it paired with the mango and avocado to add more fruity flavours.
• The beef would also work really well in some tacos with guacamole and tomato salsa.
• For more ideas for a fresh beef salad have a look at this gorgeous Oriental Beef Noodle Salad from Thyme to Eat.

 

 

 

Mojo Beef Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the Mojo Sauce

• The juice of one orange
• The zest and juice of one lime
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped – or less if you don’t want much heat
• 3 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• The leaves from a few sprigs of fresh oregano or ½ tsp of dried oregano
• A few fresh coriander leaves
• Salt and pepper

For the salad

• 2 striploin or flank steaks
• Little gem lettuce or salad greens of your choice
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 avocado
• ½ a mango
• ½ a small red onion

 

Method:

• Start by making the marinade. If you have a food processor, a small one would be perfect, simply put all of the marinade ingredients into and blitz until all combined. Taste the marinade and season to your own preference.
• If you don’t have a processor, finely chop all of the ingredients and add them to a clean jam jar. Give it a good shake to combine all of the ingredients.
• Put the steaks into a Ziploc bag and add half of the marinade. Seal it and give it a good shake so that the steaks are well covered. Put the beef into the fridge.
• Put the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool. Taste it to see if you need to season it or add more olive oil. Store it in a jar until you are ready to use it.
• When you are ready to make the salad, take the beef out of the fridge and allow it come to room temperature.
• Remove the beef from the marinade, shaking off the excess and discard that marinade.
• Fry the steak to your liking and allow it to rest.
• Meanwhile, clean and chop the lettuce. Peel and finely slice the mango, avocado and red onion and divide between the plates. You could always make this as a salsa if you like. Add the chopped tomatoes.
• Thinly slice the steaks and arrange on top of the salad. Drizzle over the dressing and serve immediately.