Thai Steak Salad with Sesame-Chili-Lime Cashews

Kate was putting together a delicious-smelling steak salad the other night for dinner, when I happened to show up early for girls night.  And being the sweetheart that she is, she fed me :)  A mound of fresh spinach, beautifully glazed grape tomatoes, perfectly seared medium rare steak, and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  With really crusty bread.  It was to die for.

So it's not surprising that the next day when I was brainstorming dinner ideas, the first idea that came to mind was a steak salad.  I thought I better try something a little different though, just to keep things interesting.  But don't get me wrong, Kate's salad was perfect, and I will most definitely be copying her sometime soon!

I turned to my trusty recipe source: foodgawker.  I used to favor tastespotting, because their layout is just more aesthetically pleasing, but the search function on foodgawker is just so much better that it has become my default when I need cooking or baking inspiration.  Plus, it doesn't have the annoying adds interspersed throughout.

After just a few seconds of browsing through the "steak salad" search results, I found the recipe.  It was from HALF BAKED harvest; the beautiful photos (seriously, you need to go visit Tieghan's website to just to see the mouth-watering photo) and abundance of fresh ingredients just pulled me in.  Plus, this salad had cashews!

I basically follower her recipe to the t, just omitting the hard boiled eggs, the lemon grass (only because it's so tough... the flavor would have been a great addition!), and the Thai chilies (if they had been listed in the ingredients, I definitely would have included them, but I only noticed them afterwards, in her pictures).  I also substituted half of the baby kale with savoy cabbage, because I happened across it in the Loma Linda Market, and really just couldn't help myself.

The only thing I would change for the next time I make this:  Carsten and I are more into the veggies than the steak, so I only cooked one steak for the whole 4 person salad.  The downside: there wasn't enough hot meat to warm the salad.  This kind of salad really needs to be warm.  So next time, I would either add more steak, or very quickly sautée the whole salad in a giant wok before serving.  Or maybe just the greens....

Alright, here is the recipe, [slightly] adapted from HALF BAKED harvest:
serves 4 as a main dish, or 6 as a side
Ingredients
For the Cashews

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 1/3 cups raw cashews

2 Tbs honey

zest of 1 lime

For the Dressing

2 limes, juiced + the zest of 1 lime

1 Tbs fish sauce

2 Tbs ponzu sauce (or soy sauce, but ponzu sauce is best and works better here)

3 Tbs sweet thai chili sauce

1-2 cloves garlic, minced or grate

1 Tbs fresh ginger, grated

3 Tbs tahini (sesame seed paste) (Tieghan suggested you can substitute peanut butter, if you prefer) 

For the Salad 

2 cups baby kale or other dark leafy greens 
2 cups savoy cabbage (or just use all kale) 
10 oz frozen shelled edamame 
2 carrots, julienned (to the best of your ability) 
1 bell pepper (red, yellow or orange), sliced thin 
1 cup fresh or frozen mango, chopped into chunk 
4 green onions, chopped 
3/4 cup fresh basil 
3/4 cup fresh cilantro 
1/2 cup fresh mint 
1/4 cup black and/or white sesame seeds, toasted (I used half and half)

Procedure 

For the Cashews 

Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add the sesame oil, cashews and chili powder, toss well. Cook over medium heat until lightly toasted and browned, about five minutes. During the last minute of cooking add in the honey (I used 2 tablespoons). Remove from the heat and add the lime zest and 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds. Toss well and set aside.

For the Rest 

Add the steak to a glass pyrex dish or gallon size ziplock bag.

In a glass measuring cup or bowl whisk together the lime juice + zest, fish sauce, ponzu sauce, sweet thai chili sauce, garlic and ginger (DON'T add the tahini yet!). Pour about 1/4 -1/3 of the dressing over the steak, cover or seal the bag and place in the fridge while you prep the rest of the salad, at least 15 minutes (the longer the better).

Meanwhile add the tahini to a small bowl and microwave until melted and smooth, about 15-20 seconds. Add the melted tahini to the dressing, whisk until smooth. Taste and add more tahini or sweet thai chili sauce to your liking, set aside.

Place the frozen edamame in a microwave safe bowl, and cover with water.  Microwave on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until edamame is slightly warm.  Drain well.

In a large bowl add the kale, cabbage, edamame, carrots, bell peppers, mango chunks, green onions, basil, cilantro, and mint. Give it all a good toss.

Heat a grill or grill pan to high heat.  Once hot sear the steak for 3-4 minutes, flip and sear another 3 minutes or until your desired doneness is reached. Remove the steak and allow to rest 5 minutes. Slice steak thinly against the grain and add to the salad. Add the dressing, cashews, and remaining sesame seeds. Toss to coat and massage the dressing into the veggies for 1-2 minutes.  Serve warm.

 

share.eat.repeat.

Stuffed Chicken and Sautéed Radishes with Peach Arugula Salad

We just got home from our vacation in Spain with all of the married Hamanns - including the newlyweds, who joined us straight from their honeymoon!  As a family, we spent a few days on the beach in Sitges and a week in Barcelona, enjoying the sun, beautiful sites, and amazing seafood... probably too much of it.

Now that we're back, Carsten is into full-on study mode for Boards part 2.  He's got a strict schedule he follows, including his breaks for lunch and exercise and dinner.  That's my job for this month: making him a yummy and healthy dinner each night.  Full of veggies and protein.  It's only been one week, but I'm enjoying the challenge of coming up with a delicious and healthy well-rounded meal day after day.  As we normally eat vegetarian when it's just the two of us, it's proved even more challenging to mix up the protein sources...

Tonight was definitely a success.  I know, because he suggested I blog it ;)

The stuffed chicken I adapted from a recipe I found at From Calculu∫ to Cupcake∫.  Maybe I was drawn to it because I relate to math and baking name, or maybe it was just the mouth-watering picture, that looks like anything but a boring chicken breast.

The sweet sautéed radishes I found over at The Endless Meal.  The fabulous photographs are definitely what got me on this one.

And the peach salad I threw together because I was lucky enough to find some fabulous peaches at the grocery store.  I could eat this salad all day... it's like a healthy dessert.

Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
serves 2
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 oz cream cheese (I used fat-free)
4 oz frozen spinach, thawed
4 oz mushrooms, chopped into small 1/4-inch pieces (I used mini porcini mushrooms)
1 Tbs drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 tsp cooking olive oil
salt and fresh black pepper to taste
paprika
any other seasoning of your choice

Procedure
Let the spinach thaw enough to separate out 4oz.  Return the remaining spinach to the freezer for later use.  Place the chicken on parchment paper, and using a meat tenderizer mallet, pound each chicken breast until about 1/4 inch thick.  Fold the paper over the chicken, and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Add olive oil to a pan over medium heat, and sautée the mushrooms until most of the moisture has been released and evaporated.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes and the cream cheese, and stir until the cheese is melted and well-incorporated.  Squeeze all of the liquid out of the spinach, and add it to the pan.  Mix well, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside to until cool enough to handle.
Remove the chicken from the fridge, and evenly distribute half of the filling onto one end of each breast.  Roll up the breast, taking care not to let the stuffing fall out the sides.  Secure the chicken with tooth picks or kitchen twine.
Drizzle or spray each roll with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika, and any other seasoning you desire.  Return chicken to the fridge until ready to cook (you can prepare these up to a day in advance).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place chicken rolls on a baking sheet, and bake until chicken is fully cooked but still moist, about 15 minutes.  Remove tooth picks or twine before serving.


Sweet Sautéed Radishes
Ingredients
serves 2-3
1 bunch of radishes, about 10 in total
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp butter
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs sherry vinegar (or vinegar of your choice)
dash of sea salt

Procedure
Twist the leaves off the radishes and wash the radishes well. Thinly slice 2 radishes into rounds and set them aside. Then cut the remaining radishes in half lengthwise. Wash the leaves well, place them in a large bowl and set them aside.
Heat the olive oil in a cast iron or non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Add the radishes, cut side down, to the pan. Sautée them for 3-4 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown. Remove them from the pan and place them in the bowl with the radish greens.
In a small sauce pan, heat the butter, honey, vinegar and salt over medium heat.  It will come to a boil.  Cook until the glaze thickens, then pour the glaze over the sautéed radishes and radish greens.  Toss well to coat.
Transfer the sautéed radishes and greens to a serving plate, scatter the thinly sliced radishes around the plate and sprinkle the top with a little extra sea salt.


Peach Arugula Salad
Ingredients
serves 2
2 handfuls arugula
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 Tbs crumbled goat cheese
1 ripe peach, peeled and chopped

olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Procedure
Assemble the ingredients on two plates in the order listed, top with a light drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

share.eat.repeat.

Goodbye Dathan Niçoise Salad

It was wonderful having the brother with us for the month of August, reminiscent of the college days when we all lived in such close proximity.  It was sad to see him go.  I decided to make a special meal in honor of his last week with us :)

I found this beautiful recipe for Niçoise salad here at Feasting at Home.  I've been wanting to cook fish for a while now, and it seemed like the perfect occasion, and this salad looked light and summery.  I made a few tiny changes here an there, but for the most part, I followed Sylvia's recipe.

Miss you already Dathan!

share.eat.repeat.