Annabel Langbein’s Mediterranean Beef Salad

This salad is served at room temperature, which is handy if you don’t want to be rushing around at the last minute.

To prepare it ahead of time, cut up the vegetables and herbs, cover and chill. If you want, you can cook the meat up to about an hour before serving then combine all the ingredients just before serving.

READY IN 15 MINS + RESTING

SERVES 4 / DF GF

Ingredients

• 400-600g frying steaks, such as sirloin, fillet or scotch fillet, hanger steak (or use lamb steaks)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 300-400g tomatoes, halved or sliced in wedges
• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 large roasted red pepper, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup pitted Calamata olives
• 120g (4-5 handfuls) rocket, baby spinach or mixed salad leaves

Dressing

• ¼ cup Calamata olives, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp capers, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
• Salt and grinds of pepper
• Garnish
• 60g feta cheese crumbled
• ¼ cup basil leaves

Method

Put the steaks in a bowl, add oil, vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper and mix to combine. Leave to marinate on the bench for 5 minutes, or up to 24 hours covered in the fridge.  Heat bbq hot plate or frying pan and cook steaks for 2-3 minutes on each side or until done to your liking. Transfer to a carving board, cover and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before angle-slicing thinly across the grain. If preparing ahead of time, slice just before serving.

When ready to serve, slice up tomatoes, onions and pepper and place in a mixing bowl with olives. Slice the meat and combine with any cooking juices and half the dressing. Add dressed meat to salad ingredients along with remaining dressing and toss to combine.  Divide salad greens over the bottom of a serving platter, pile over the salad and garnish with crumbled cheese and basil leaves.

Accompany with crusty bread.

A note on some cheaper steak cuts you could use:

BEEF HANGER STEAK (SYNONYMS: HANGING TENDER, ONGLET STEAK, BUTCHER’S STEAK, THICK SKIRT

Hanger steaks (aka hanging tenders, thick skirts, butcher’s steaks, onglets) are cut from the plate section of the steer (between the brisket and the flank. These steaks are then cleaned (hangers have a center membrane that must be removed) & portioned into individual servings.

Hanger steaks were a little known cut in the US until recently – they were often held back by American butchers for personal use, as it was believed they didn’t appeal to consumers. However, this cut has a long & proud history in other parts of the world, and has recently been “discovered” by chefs & consumers in the US.

The hanger steak is a classic bistro-style cut (the traditional choice for steak frites) with very bold flavor that is quickly gaining favor for its affordability & bold flavor. Though not as tender as the steakhouse cuts like ribeyes and striploins, it has a satisfyingly chewy texture that is similar to skirt steaks. Because of the muscle’s prominent grain, these steaks are best cooked no further than medium rare & sliced against the grain for optimal tenderness. They are an excellent choice for marinating

In addition to serving as steaks, hangers can also be cut down for use in stir fry, fajitas, etc.

Applications: Sear, Broil, Grill, Roast, Pan Roast or Sous Vide.

FLAT IRON STEAK

The flat iron is named for its distinctive shape, which looks a bit like an antique iron with its handle missing. This unique portion of the chuck shoulder clod is unusually tender and marbled.

The flat iron has a thick layer of very tough silver skin that runs through the middle, bisecting the muscle in half. Because of this silverskin, the flat iron is unusable whole. It cannot be braised or slow roasted, but instead must have the meat cut away from the membrane.

These whole flat irons are sold cleaned of top & bottom fat.

Applications: Butterfly & Roast or Split & Cut into Steaks.

SKIRT STEAK

The outer skirt steak is a long, flavorful cut from the plate with a strong muscle grain. While inner skirt steak are cheaper and the classic fajita cut, outer skirt steaks are prized as a more affordable center of plate cut. They contain intramuscular fat that helps keep them juicy & flavorful after high heat cooking methods.

This cut marinates well and should be thinly sliced against the grain for optimum tenderness.

These skirt steaks are sold with their outer fat & membrane peeled off, ensuring better yields and less work before cooking.

Applications: Grill, Sear.

TRI TIP STEAK

TheTri Tip is a triangular small roast from the Bottom Sirloin that offers good flavor at an affordable price. It’s most commonly grilled, roasted, or smoked before being sliced against the grain, but can also be cut into tri tip steaks or sliced/cubed for saute, stir fry, kebab meat, etc.

Applications: Roast, Grill, Smoke, or Slice into Steaks.