Recipe: Italian griddled beef

To finish this off, drizzle a good amount of the best extra virgin olive oil you can find over before serving.

Ingredients

2 beef sirloin steaks
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
5ml (1 tsp) rock salt
2,5ml (½ tsp) black peppercorns
3 garlic cloves, 2 left whole, 1 peeled and finely sliced
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
2 x 400g tins cannellini beans, drained
2 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Method

1. Take the steaks out of the fridge an hour before you want to cook them so they come up to room temperature.

2. Tie the rosemary sprigs together at the cut ends and place the loose ends in a pestle and mortar with the salt, pepper and 2 whole garlic cloves. Lightly bash, then add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Stir gently with the rosemary bundle to make a kind of marinade, and brush the steaks all over with it.

3. Heat a griddle pan, big enough to hold both steaks without touching each other, until very hot. Place the steaks in it side by side, and cook them for 2 – 3 minutes on each side for a nice pink, juicy steak. Cook your steak for longer if you like it a little more done than this.

4. Take the steaks out of the pan, put them on a plate to rest for a few minutes, then slice them.

5. Mash a third of the beans with the back of a spoon. Heat a small saucepan and add a splash of olive oil and the sliced garlic. When the garlic is light brown, add the whole and the mashed beans and cook gently until they are heated through.

6. Stir the parsley into the beans and serve on a plate with the rested steaks on top. Pour over all those lovely resting juices from the meat.

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