Japanese Style Steak Salad

As the thermometer pushed 100F today, it seemed like the only logical choice for dinner was a salad. This one comes from Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Dinners and was absolutely delicious. The only changes I made to the recipe were to add some mixed salad greens (heirloom lettuces and arugula), as I wanted more greens than Jamie originally included. The tahini sauce went fabulous with the steak and radishes and was a bit different from your regular oil and vinegar based dressings.

This is definitely a keeper and was great for a summer evening in 100F and (still!!!) no airconditioner.

Japanese Style Saturday Night Steak
(Serves 2)

1 large sirloin steak
1/2 a daikon
1 small bunch of fresh radishes
1 fresh red chilli
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro
2 large handfuls or salad greens
2 tbs water
2 tbs tahini
1 tsp soy sauce
juice of one lime
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
olive oil

1. Take steaks out of the fridge 15 minutes before you want to cook them. Peel the skin off the daikon, then continue to peel long strips off it and place in a bowl. Slice the radishes into fine rounds, de-seed the chilli and slice thinly and place both in the bowl. Tear the cilantro into pieces and place in the bowl.

2. Add water to the tahini and mix until its a smooth paste. Stir in the soy sauce and lime juice and mix until smooth.

3. Heat a frying pan and season steaks with salt and pepper. Rub in a little olive oil and place it in the pan. Fry for about 10 minutes, turning steak every minute and lowering heat to medium after the first minute. Rest the steaks for a couple minutes before slicing them thinly. Tip any juices from the steak into the tahini and mix.

4. To serve, dress the salad with the sauce, add the steak and toss. Place half on each plate.