Steak Recipe – Tagliata Balsamico

A Simple Recipe for Steak – Italian Style Tagliata Balsamico:

One of the things I miss about living on the borders of Kennington and Walworth is a good local butcher.  Of course I could order a delivery, but I don’t always plan far enough in advance to buy my meat and fresh vegetables that way  It may well all be in my head, but even the more expensive organic, free-range meat from the supermarket doesn’t seem to have the depth of flavour you’ll find with meat bought from a good butcher or farm shop.  Maybe it’s to do with packaging and storage rather than sourcing?  So, while I am happy enough to use supermarket meat in stews, casseroles, tagines and pies, I seldom buy a steak from the supermarket.

Sometimes though, I just get a craving for red meat, grilled, perfectly juicy and full of flavour.  But, I simply don’t have time to travel to my nearest butcher (3 stops on the tube to clapham common).  So, it’s down to being creative in order to get the perfect dish.

The first trick is to make sure I take it out of the fridge a few hours before cooking and leave it unwrapped and loosely covered.  The second is to use a rub or a marinade to help bring out the flavour.  An easy version of the Italian Classic ‘Tagliata Balsamico’ for instance.  The herb and garlic mixture helps to bring out the flavour of the meat while the balsamic vinegar and olive oil helps tenderize the meat.

Steak Recipe – Tagliata Balsamico

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Serves	1
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	5 minutes
Total time	15 minutes
Meal type	Main Dish
Misc	Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Region	Italian

Ingredients

• 1 Sirloin Steak
• 1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 2-3 sprigs Rosemary
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 handful Wild Rocket
• Parmesan shavings
• 1 teaspoon Vinaigrette (Shop bought or home made)

Directions

Step 1	Strip all the rosemary needles and peel the garlic cloves
Step 2	If you have a small blender or food processor, you can blend the garlic, rosemary and balsamic together, then add in the olive oil to make a herb flecked mixture. If not, chop the rosemary and garlic finely, then use a pestle and mortar to pulverise before adding in the balsamic and finally whisking the mixture together with the oil.
Step 3	Put the steak in a plastic or ceramic dish. Coat the steak well on both sides and pour the remaining marinade over. Cover and leave at room temperature for an hour or in the fridge for up to 8 hours (remember to remove from the fridge half an hour before you want to eat!)
Step 4	Heat a griddle till smoking hot.
Step 5	Wash the rocket and drain well. Dress with the vinaigrette then plate up, adding the parmesan shavings
Step 6	Gently scrape any extra marinade off the steak with a spoon or round ended knife. Season well with salt and pepper.
Step 7	Cook the steak according to taste and depending on the thickness of your cut. My sirloin of about 1cm thickness took less than 2 minutes on each size to produce a rare steak.
Step 8	Put the steak onto the plate of rocket and drizzle any meat juices from the pan over the meat.

This is an ultra simple way to make the most of a cheaper steak.  I generally use sirloin steak but the recipe would work well with rump steak (perhaps marinade for a little longer) or ribeye.  And of course if you are feeling really indulgent, the result with an organic, grass-fed steak from a good butcher will be perfect.

Enjoy with a glass of red wine, safe in the knowledge that this is a low carb recipe suitable for those trying to diet or loose weight.