“At Marie Claire we believe good food is a combination of fresh ingredients and uncomplicated layers of flavour.  When you start with quality produce, a few simple flavours will complement and contrast with your base ingredients to create the perfect taste experience.  Think of food with passion, not anxiety, and feel free to substitute and add ingredients as you please.  This is often how personalised culinary masterpieces are created.”

 

I absolutely love this quote from the front of the Marie Claire book simply called Cooking.  It is so very true that people get so overwhelmed with the whole deciding, shopping, cooking thing that they forget to allow themselves to be in the moment.  I say that without being some amazing and fabulous cook, I just like doing it. (most of the time)

Anyway, this menu is great for anytime of the year, even though we automatically think that salads should only be served in the summer.    I have made various Thai Beef salads over the years but this one just hit the spot.  I did, as suggested and added and subtracted.  I added blanched asparagus, mango, avocado and beautiful little tomatoes.  I only used one chilli instead of two.  The kick was more than enough for me.  The added fresh flavours gave the salad are more substantial feel.  So, I didn’t need to have any other sides and everyone certainly had enough to eat.  In fact, this got 10/10.  It is easy too because you can marinate the meat in advance and throw the rest together whilst it is cooking.

Bye for this week.

From my table to yours with love.

Thai Beef Salad

Rump steak is given a short marinade in soy, garlic and lime juice, then seared quickly on a hot char grill so it stays pink in the middle, and rested before slicing thinly. It is piled over a bed of assorted salad greens with plenty of mint, basil and coriander, plus sliced cucumber and chopped red chillies. The dressing is shaken together from soy, lime juice, palm sugar and shredded kaffir lime leaves until the sugar dissolves, balancing salty, sour, sweet and hot. Poured over just before serving, it keeps the leaves fresh and the beef tender.

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 450 g Rump steak
• 3 tsp Soy sauce
• 2 cloves Garlic crushed
• 2 tbsp Lime juice
• 150 g Assorted salad greens
• 1/3 c Mint leaves
• 1/3 c Basil leaves
• 1/4 c Coriander leaves
• 1 Cucumber sliced
• 2 Red chillies chopped
• 3 tbsp Soy Sauce extra
• 2 tbsp Lime juice extra
• 2 tsp Palm sugar
• 2 Kaffir lime leaves shredded

Method

 

1. Place steak, soy sauce, garlic and lime juice in a bowl and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Cook steak on a preheated hot char grill for 1-2 minutes on each side or until cooked to your liking. Cover steak and set aside. Arrange lettuce, mint, basil, coriander and cucumber on serving plates. Slice beef thinly and place on top of salad.
2. Combine all ingredients and give a good shake to dissolve sugar and mix the flavours. Pour dressing over the salad and serve.

Notes

Source: Marie Claire – Cooking Pg. 98

Lime and Raspberry Tart

A tart with a sharp lime filling softened by coconut cream. The pastry is made in a food processor from flour, caster sugar and butter, brought together with iced water and rested in the fridge before rolling, which stops it shrinking as it bakes. Rolled thin and pressed into a deep tart tin, it is chilled again and blind baked with weights until set. The filling combines lime juice with cream, coconut cream, caster sugar and lightly beaten eggs, poured in and baked gently until just firm. Finished with fresh raspberries and a dusting of icing sugar.

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 c Plain flour
• 3 tbsp Caster sugar
• 155 g Butter chopped
• Iced water
• 1/2 c Lime juice
• 1 1/2 c Cream
• 1/2 c Coconut cream
• 1/2 c Caster sugar
• 4 eggs lightly beaten
• Raspberries
• Icing sugar

Method

 

1. Place flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and process until mixture has formed fine crumbs. Add enough iced water to form a soft dough. Remove dough from food processor and knead lightly, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling to prevent shrinkage when baked. Roll out pastry until it's 3mm thick. Place pastry in a deep 23cm round tart tin and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Line pastry shell with non-stick paper and fill with baking weights or rice. Bake shell in a preheated 180ºc oven for 5 minutes. Remove weights and paper, and bake for a further 5 minutes.
2. Combine lime juice, cream, coconut cream, sugar and eggs. Pour filling into pastry case and cook for 25 minutes or until just set. Refrigerate tart until it's cold and top with raspberries to serve. Sprinkle with icing sugar

Notes

Source: Marie Claire – Cooking Pg. 148