Himalayan Salt Seared Beef Tenderloin

As you may have noticed, YC’s been on hiatus for a bit here. Winters are rough, I’m finishing up graduate school, working and living my life. I don’t want to be one of those cliche bloggers who says, “Oh dear me. I’ve totally neglected my blog,” but here you have it. Whatever. Blogs are cliche anyway, so no harm done.

Another factor in my neglect is that we’ve moved. Not far, but it’s been a process. After weeks of packing, unpacking, furniture shopping and schlepping to East Overshoe for other essentials, we are finally settled in the new place and it’s fantastic. The kitchen here is much nicer than our old place. No more tacky cracked Formica counter tops. Hooray.

That said, on with the Himalayan Salt Seared Beef. On a recent day trip, we found ourselves in a gourmet shop looking for fun little items to stock the new cabinets. While I could have easily spent way too much on cheeses alone (my Whole Foods Market withdrawal has still not subsided a year and half after moving from a major metropolitan area) we decided to limit ourselves to just a few things. Among them was a slab of Himalayan Salt. Why? Because it’s flipping cool. You can cook on it. Like it’s a pan. And it’s salt. It seasons as it cooks. How many other condiments do this? None. That’s how many. It’s more fun than driving a golf cart!

There are claims that Himalayan salt offers a host of health benefits due to its high level of various minerals. Sure, maybe. I’m not an expert on Himalayan salt. Whatever minerals there may be, good or bad, my guess is that cooking on a slab of Himalayan salt is probably not going to have a huge effect on one’s health, unless one plans to cook every single meal on it or use it as a salt lick. I plan to do neither.

In the end, the salt slab seasons the beef with an evenness and subtly that can’t be achieved by merely pre-salting.

By the way, sorry for yet another beef recipe. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of posting a beef recipe right after another beef recipe, but well-marbled beef really works nicely on the salt slab and I couldn’t wait to post. Also, as a formerly iron deficient vegetarian, I have a spot in my heart (and arteries) for beef.

What does Himalayan salt have to do with sustainable New England living? Not much. It probably wasn’t the greatest thing for the environment that I purchased a slab of salty rock imported from the other side of the planet, but then sometimes one must go for the gimmick if it makes you happy. We got a little slab, so the amount of space it took up on the cargo ship was seriously minuscule.

Himalayan Salt Seared Beef

Yield: serves 2

Prep time: 40 min

Cook time: 10 min

Total time: 50 min

1/2 lb beef tenderloin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 – 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

Special equipment: 1 slab of Himalayan Salt Stone

Preheat the oven to broil.

Trim any excess fat from the tenderloin. Coat with paprika, pepper and herbes de Provence. Salt will not be necessary, as the salt slab will season the beef.

Transfer the herb/spice encrusted beef tenderloin to the freezer and chill for 20 to 30 minutes. This will make it easier to slice.

Once the oven is at the correct temperature, place the salt slab in the oven to heat for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the slab.

Remove the tenderloin from the freezer and with a sharp knife, thinly slice across the grain to into 1/4 inch medallions.

Transfer the salt slab from the oven to a grill over medium heat. Working in batches if necessary, sear the medallions 2 – 5 minutes on either side, depending on the temperature of the grill and desired doneness.

Serve with a nice salad and maybe a potato to guests who are easily impressed by gimmicky kinds of things and perfectly seasoned foods.

Moroccan Beef Hors d’Oeuvres

This lovely little nibble is always a big hit at parties. It adds a hearty touch to round out a menu of veggies, dip and canapes. The spices and salt break down the meat as it marinates overnight, resulting in tender, delicious morsels.

If you have a chaffing dish, or even a fondue pot, you may want to use it to serve the Moroccan Beef Hors d’Oeuvres to keep them from getting cold. If you have any left over, count yourself lucky because these are totally snackable.

The key here is to use dry heat, like that of a flat griddle rather than a frying pan, which will hold the moisture and stew the meat.

Moroccan Beef Hors d’Oeuvre – makes 4-6 party nibble servings, 2-4 dinner servings

1 lb sirloin tip, cut into 1 inch cubes.
2 T + 1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed, or crushed and minced
1 1/2 t paprika
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t ginger
1 t turmeric
1 1/2 t paprika
1/2 t cinnamon
1 t sea salt
1/2t freshly ground black pepper

Combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil with garlic in a large bowl. Combine salt and spices in a small separate bowl.

Pat the meat dry and toss with the olive oil mixture. Using your hands, rub the dry spice mixture into the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to over night.

Spread a griddle with the last tablespoon of olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add the meat and sear all sides. Cook to desired doneness.

Serve with miniature appetizer forks or picks. Also great served over couscous.

Lamb and Adzuki Bean Chili

The nice thing about making chili in a slow cooker is that there’s less risk of burning the bottom of the pot and therefore less need to watch it closely. You can go about your afternoon and come home to a nice hot bowl of spicy, meaty goodness. It’s also pretty quick compared to other slow cooker recipes – 4 hours on high and you’re good.

In the winter, when fresh tomatoes are either not around or taste like cardboard, I like to use canned whole peeled tomatoes. A combination of beans is also a nice touch. Little adzuki beans are sweet and offer a nice contrast to larger red kidney beans in both taste and size. Another interesting flavor kick is the use of ground lamb along with the beef.

A note to the chili purists out there: I totally get that this is not an authentic, rancher-style, traditional-type chili. Adzuki beans are from Japan, not Texas, and the addition of lamb could potentially raise an eyebrow, but whatevs. I make no claims.

Lamb and Adzuki Bean Chili – serves 4-6

1 T cooking oil (canola or olive)
1 onion, diced
1 T tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and minced
1 – 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
3/4 – 1 lb ground lamb
1 lb ground beef
1 – 15 ounce can adzuki beans, rinsed and drained
1 – 15 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t ground coriander
1 t paprika
1/2 t chili pepper flakes
1/4 – 1/2 t salt
cheddar cheese, grated
fresh parsley, finely chopped

Heat the oil in a skillet over a medium flame. Add the onion and begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, garlic and peppers with the onions and stir to combine. Lower heat and continue to cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion is caramelized and pepper is softened. Remove from heat.

Pour the liquid from the can of tomatoes into the slow cooker. Remove the stems from the tomatoes and loosely chop into 1/2 – 1 inch pieces. Add the chopped tomatoes with the kidney beans and adzuki beans to the slow cooker.

Combine the ground beef and lamb with the chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and chili pepper flakes. Add the meat mixture to the slow cooker. Set to low  and cook for 4 hours or high.

Serve hot, topped with a good amount of grated cheddar cheese and parsley, and a nice piece of fresh crusty French bread.

Soy Marinated Steak Tips

This is one of those recipes that’s really just a reflection of what we have for dinner when I don’t feel like trying, but it actually turns out to be simple and great.

For some reason, a dinner of steak tips, Brussels sprouts (I know, I know! I bought Brussels sprouts out of season. Scandal. I also bought cookies in a box the other day. I don’t even know myself anymore.) and mashed potatoes is total comfort food to me. I marinated the tips in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic scapes, oil, paprika, smoked paprika (because I can never leave well enough alone with the paprika) and chili powder.

Soy sauce offers the perfect level of savory seasoning and the paprika(s), garlic scapes and chili combine to add a little sweet spice and heft. Searing on a griddle creates a crisp exterior and keeps the meat from stewing in its own juices.

1 lb sirloin steak tips, cut into 1″ cubes
1/3 C soy sauce
1 T + 1 T canola oil
1 t paprika
1 t smoked paprika
1 t chili powder
1 garlic scape, split lengthwise and cut into 1/4″ pieces

In a large bowl, mix the soy sauce with 1 tablespoon of the oil, paprikas, chili powder, and scape. Add the beef and toss to coat. Allow to marinade for 30 minutes, tossing again halfway through.

Heat the other tablespoon of oil on the griddle over medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Arrange the tips so that they are about an inch apart. Turn the tips after 5 minutes and sear the other side for another 5 minutes. If any red, uncooked spots are still visible, turn the tips using tongs to sear the uncooked sides.

Off the heat and remove the tips from the griddle. Serve with a nice comforting starchy vegetable like potatoes and something green and lush to make up the difference.

Veal Scallopine

Sure, this recipe is a tiny bit similar to last week’s stuffed chicken. To be honest, I’m feeling a little uninspired these days. It’s been a long winter and I’m just biding my time until our farmers market opens. I’m really looking forward to the availability of fresh local produce again.

Veal Scallopine is a quick dish. Cutlets are thin and take only a few minutes to cook, so while this is not necessarily a summer recipe, it’s not one to heat up the whole kitchen.

The key to this dish is the sauce. White wine and lemon juice are used to deglaze the pan and add punch. Capers lend their caperyness for salty little bursts.

Veal Scallopine – serves 2

1/4 C flour
1/2 t salt
3/4 – 1 lb thinly sliced veal (4 -  6 cutlets)
2 T lemon juice
1/3 C white wine
3 T capers
2 – 4 T olive oil

Combine the flour and salt in a shallow bowl. Dredge each veal cutlet, shake off the excess and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the veal for 2 minutes on each side. Place cooked cutlets on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet and place in the oven to keep warm.

Pour wine and lemon juice into the frying pan, using a spatula, scrape up any bits and mix it into the wine mixture as the alcohol cooks off. Add the capers and simmer for another minute.

Plate the veal, partially cover with the sauce and serve.

Ingredient origins: Flour – Vermont; Sea salt – Italy; Veal – unknown; Lemon – Mexico; Wine – California; Capers – Italy; Olive oil – Italy (See? This is why it’s frustrating to be a locavore in a temperate zone!)