Steak & Portobello Dinner with Blue Cheese

Quite often I wonder whether a dish is worth posting about, because it's so simple or quick to make, but I've been told that these can be some of the most helpful posts so I guess it is worth it after all!

So, last year I signed up for a meat box scheme*, which is a bit like a veg box scheme except... well there's the obvious difference. This is a big box full of excellent quality, organic, seasonal meat with the highest welfare standards and decent hanging time (where appropriate). Just like the veg, the cuts and type of meat you receive change with the seasons and supports farmers in selling all of an animal rather than focusing on just the most popular cuts. You can also choose to include offal and charcuterie, even pet mince for the cats. It's like having a proper butcher who also delivers to your door.

The meat arrives as a mixture of fresh and frozen, some of it you might need to eat that week but the majority of it is freezable. I'm finding it quite handy to have a little variety of cuts in my freezer, ready to use at just 24 hours notice (or 2 days for a large joint). Anyway, a delivery came last Friday with two juicy-looking rump steaks, hence this supper was born.

Preheat the oven to the hottest temperature it can do - about 220. Cut a small pile of potatoes into wedges (again, mine are bleu d'auvergny in the picture, hence the dark colour) and pop into a baking tray with a sprinkle of dried rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper.

In another baking tray, lay out portobello mushrooms that have been brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with a very small pinch of garlic granules, plus some halved cherry tomatoes with a sprinkle of thyme.

Put the potatoes in the oven first, for ten minutes or so, before adding the mushroom tray and turning the heat down to 180. Put a griddle on to heat, or a frying pan if you don't have one - don't put oil in it.

To prepare the steaks (in this case rump), make sure they are already at room temperature before you start, then rub them with oil, salt and fresh pepper. When the griddle is hot lay the steaks in and do not move them until the underside is cooked or they will stick!

Slice your favourite blue cheese and place on the plates, personally I love gorgonzola and roquefort. Turn the oven off but leave the vegetables in there while you remove the steaks to a board and give them five minutes to rest (don't be tempted to skip this bit or they will be tough). Then add the steak to the plates and arrange the crispy wedges, mushrooms and tomatoes in the remaining space, along with some token salad, in our case a little winter purslane. Nom.
 
* Here, in alphabetical order, are some organic meat boxes you might like to investigate. I can vouch from personal experience for the high quality of the meat from three out of the four. If anyone has genuine feedback about Riverford Farms, or any other organic meat box scheme, then I would be pleased to hear from you:

Abel & Cole
Laverstock Park Farm
Riverford Farms
Well Hung Meat Co (this is the one I get)

  

Surf & Turf BBQ: Lamb burgers, Sea Bass & Prawns with Watercress Salad

When we looked out of the upper window of our house on Sunday afternoon we saw three things in common with all of them: laundry on the line, mowers running and barbecues out. Ok, so we didn't quite get around to getting the mower out, but we did do the laundry and wheel out the barbecue.

We went to the supermarket on the way home from the pick-your-own farm, primarily for cat food and compost baggies, but couldn't resist a couple of special offers on organic lamb mince, line-caught sea bass and large atlantic prawns. Oh yum. We were salivating already as we drove home, catching the smell of everyone elses barbecues on the way past.

The skewers are easy: take prawns, thread on skewer. Done. Major mistake? Using pre-cooked prawns. They were still tasty but dried out quite a lot on the coals.

Lamb, Redcurrant & Mint Burgers
I got the idea for these from the counter at waitrose, where they sell them pre-made. As we'd just picked some redcurrants at the farm these burgers came back to mind so I thought I'd give making them a go. I made it up as I went along but the results were really good.


I put a handful of redcurrants together with a handful of chopped mint, some salt and pepper, 200g of lamb mince, plus onions and garlic, pre-fried with a little sugar to help them brown and make them slightly caramelised. Squished up by hand and formed into patties, these were perfect.

Asian Style Steamed Seabass
This one's easy, just whisk up a couple of dashes each of light and dark soy sauce, the juice of a lime, a splosh of sesame oil and another of rice wine vinegar, a big dollop of grated ginger, some chopped coriander and a red chilli. 

Keep tasting it and adding the ingredients until it tastes good to you, if it isn't acidic enough add more lime or vinegar, if it's too acidic add more oil, if it isn't salty enough add more soy. Tweak away until you like it, that's why you're making it.

Lay the fish in a foil parcel and spoon over the sauce, wrap it up tightly so it won't leak and it's good to go on the barbecue.

Watercress, Herb, Blue Cheese & Walnut Salad

I love watercress and I love herbs, luckily I already had a lot of both. I mixed the watercress with the following, scavenged from the garden: chives, basil, oregano, marjoram, coriander, spinach, sorrel, parsley, fennel and nasturtium leaves.

Make up a dressing from balsamic vinegar, first cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, spoon this over and then top the whole salad with walnut peices and little peices of blue cheese - whichever is your favourite, but a slightly sweeter type goes best.

I garnished it with a nasturtium flower and borage and coriander flowers, because they're incredibly pretty and edible too.