Beef Salad with Watercress and Basil Sauce Recipe

Here is a rather wonderful beef salad recipe. If you want to do something different with your steaks, apart from the usual steak sandwich, then this is a great recipe.

This also makes a wonderful filling for a baguette or ciabatta bread if you are looking for a slightly more substantial meal.

However, it's the basil and mustard sauce that really lifts this dish and makes it something special. The sauce is so good that I make it and store in in the refrigerator like a pesto.

Beef Salad with Watercress and Basil Sauce

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 lean sirloin (or rump) steaks
2 tsp sunflower oil
250g (9 1/2 oz) watercress
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

For the Basil Sauce:

25g (1 oz) fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon or English mustard
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

Begin with the sauce. Combine the basil, garlic, lemon juice and mustard in a food processor. Pulse to form a rough paste then, with the motor still running, add the olive oil in a steady trickle until the mixture is thick. Turn the resultant mixture into a small bowl, season to taste with salt and black pepper then set in the refrigerator until needed.

Season the steaks then brush with the oil. Cook on a pre-heated griddle pan until done to your liking (medium-rare is probably best though). Transfer to the meat to a warm plate and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Arrange the watercress in a serving dish. Slice the meat diagonally (reserve any meat juices to add to the sauce). Add the beef strips to the salad and toss to combine.

Drizzle over the sauce and serve immediately.

For hundreds more ideas of what to do with beef and beef-based recipes, why not visit the Celtnet beef information and beef recipes pages?