It feels a bit off to be posting a recipe for steak salad on a week where we are all being encouraged to cut our meat consumption. Personally I eat red meat at most once a week and have several meat free days each week. My real meat weakness is bacon, I have to stop myself from adding it to everything. I post a lot of recipes with chicken but a lot of the time that I make those dishes, I have a veggie version for myself. Most of my recipes can easily be made meat free.

So, when I do have beef, it has to be good. And I think this Beef Tagliata Salad is really good. It is very quick and easy, making it an ideal midweek meal. The whole thing is ready in the length of time it takes to cook and rest the steak. Tagliata simply means ‘cut’ in Italian so there are no rules when it comes to this salad, other than the fact that you need to slice the steak. As with all simple food, you need to use the best quality ingredients that you can get.

Useful tips & links:

Use any cut of steak that you like yourself. I go for striploin as there is enough fat to give it flavour and it is not too expensive. Flank or hanger steak are also popular for this dish and you can use fillet too if you like . I like mine medium rare, himself prefers it medium-well, which is why you’re not seeing a picture of his! Resting the steak is crucial after cooking to keep the juices in the steak, so I rest it for at least five minutes before slicing.
Many of the recipes I read roasted the tomatoes in the oven. I am lazy and think it is unnecessary. In the Summer I like to avoid turning on the oven if possible, so I cook the tomatoes in the same pan that the steaks are fried in. Himself prefers his tomatoes raw so I just slice his and put them straight on to the lettuce.
As mentioned in my Charred Broccoli Caesar Salad, charring the lemon brings out it’s juice and gives it a more complex flavour. Feel free to skip this if you like.
Mix it up to your tastes, add some fried mushrooms or roasted red peppers or artichokes.
If you want to bulk out this, I sometimes serve it with my Loaded Smashed Potatoes without the toppings. Recently I made Nigella’s Rapid Roastini from her book Kitchen to serve on the side and while the recipe is not online, you simply shallow fry shop bought gnocchi until they go crispy, delicious!
For more ideas for beef salads, have a look at my Steak Burrito Bowl with Chipotle Dressing, my Thai Beef Salad or a regular one here, my Warm Beef and Blue Cheese Salad.
I’m intrigued by this Steak with Crying Tiger Sauce from Donal Skehan, next on the list!

Beef Tagliata Salad

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 sirloin or striploin steaks
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
A lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Approx. 8 small tomatoes on the vine
A handful of rocket leaves
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
Fresh parmesan shavings

Method:

Heat a heavy based frying pan over a high heat. Half the lemon and cut one half into wedges and add all of the pieces to the pan, cut side down.
Coat the steaks with olive oil and add to the hot pan. Season with salt and pepper and leave the steak alone until it starts to char and form a crust on the bottom. Then turn, season the cooked side and allow the second side to char nicely. Cook the steak to your liking, its nice to keep it pink inside but whatever you like yourself.
When the steak is cooked, remove and set it aside to rest. If the lemon has taken on a little colour remove that and set aside too.
Lower the heat in the pan and leave the juices from the steak in there. Put the tomatoes in the pan and cook them until they have softened slightly and begin to burst.
Add in about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, the crushed garlic, oregano and the juice from the other half of the lemon. Stir gently but try not to disturb the tomatoes too much. Baste this dressing over the tomatoes while they cook. Discard the garlic before serving.
Once the steak has rested fully, about 5 minutes, slice it into very thin slices. I remove the rind of fat before I do this, leave it on if you prefer.
Arrange the rocket on the plates and drizzle over a little of the dressing from the pan.
Lay the sliced steak on top of the rocket and drizzle over more of the dressing. Pour a little balsamic vinegar over the steaks too.
Add the tomatoes and lemon wedges and top the whole thing with fresh parmesan shavings.