Steak with Beetroot and Mustard Dressing

Ingredients
300g Beetroots
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Caster Sugar
1 Teaspoon English Mustard
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil=Extra for Drizzling
2 Tablespoons Water
2x150g Steaks
125g Salad Leaves

Equipment
1 Ovenproof Tray
1 Jam Jar
1 Grill Pan
1 Balloon Whisk
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board

The Good Bit

1. Start by preheating your oven too 180c 350f gas 4, top and tail the beetroot, then cut into wedges, place them in the ovenproof tray and drizzle over a little oil, make sure the beets are well coated then bake them for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile mix the vinegar, sugar and mustard together in the jam jar until smooth, then add the oil and water, screw on the top and shake well. Next cook your steaks under a high grill, 2 minutes each side for rare, 3-4 minutes per side for medium and 5 minutes for well done, let them rest for 2 minutes then slice (rare looks great with this dish and tastes awesome)
3. Add salad leaves to each plate then divide up the beetroot between the plates, top with the slices of steak and drizzle over your well shaken sauce.

Serves 4

Thai Steak Salad

Ingredients
400g Rump Steak
1 Lime (juiced)
5 Tablespoons Sweet Chilli Sauce
1/2 Stalk Fresh Lemon Grass (finely chopped)
1/2 Iceberg Lettuce (shredded)
1 Large Carrot (grated)
150g Red Grapes (halved)
25g Roasted Peanuts (chopped/roughly crushed)
Oil

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Pastry Brush
1 Griddle Pan
1 Large Mixing Bowl
1 Small Mixing Bowl

The Good Bit

1. Brush your steak with oil then griddle on each side for 3 minutes until it is cooked until medium rare (or longer if you want it well done)
2. In the meantime, mix the lime juice, chilli sauce and lemon grass in your small bowl, tip half into a larger bowl, then toss in the lettuce, carrot and grapes into the larger bowl and mix well.
3. Serve your salad onto four plates, slice the steak and serve on top, sprinkle over the nuts and drizzle the remaining sauce over the top.

Serves 4

Beef Medallions in Peppercorn Sauce

Ingredients
4 Beef Rondels/Medallions
1 Packet Peppercorn Sauce Mix
3 Large Carrots (sliced or julienne if you are being fancy)
125g Haricot Verts
8 Medium Potatoes
Butter
Milk or Cream
Salt and Pepper

Equipment
1 Griddle Pan
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Sauce Pan
2 Large Pans (with salted water in)
1 Masher

The Good Bit

1. Get the carrots and haricots verts in the pan with the water and bring to the boil on a low simmer, leaving for 10 minutes, until they are soft. At the same time boil the potatoes up in the other pan, again for about 10 minutes (stick a fork in them to see if they are done, you want them to break easily so they may need a little longer, your carrots are ok just to sit in the warm water.
2. On your griddle, heat to a high heat and add no oil, you want to sear both sides of the steak for about 5 minutes, whilst that is on make the peppercorn sauce according to the packet instructions, that's just usually adding a quantity of milk and bringing to a simmer.
3. Drain then mash your potatoes, add a knob of butter and cream (if your using it) or milk, season with salt and pepper.
4. Divide your mash between four plates, sit your steak on top, and drizzle over the peppercorn sauce, drain your carrots and haricots vert and add a knob of butter, give the pan a good shake to cover all the contents in the butter then serve at the side.
   

Serves 4

Marinated Summer Steak

Ingredients
4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
4 Tablespoons Orange Juice (freshly squeezed or from a carton)
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
3 Tablespoons Wine Vinegar (rice or white)
2 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
1in Fresh Ginger (grated)
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
500g Steak (one piece or cubes it doesn't matter)
Salad to Serve

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Frying Pan/Griddle Pan

The Good Bit

1. Mix all the ingredients together in the mixing bowl then drop in the meat and stir well to coat, leave to marinate for at least 4 hours (if you can do this in the morning before you go to work it's great) stir occasionally.
   
2. When you are ready to cook, dry fry (no oil) just the meat in the frying pan if you are using chunks or on a griddle if you have steaks (gives it that little extra charred flavour done this way) over a high heat, just seal the meat so it browns on the outside, remove from the heat and let it rest. (cook for longer if you don't want the meat pink)
   
3. Serve on a bed of lettuce, if you have used steaks, cut them with the grain into 1cm wide slices.
   

Serves 4

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients
500g Steak (cut into strips)
1 Tablespoon Margarine
3 Shallots (chopped)
250g Mushrooms (sliced)
250ml Beef Stock
1 Tablespoon Tomato Purée
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon Mustard Powder
150g Low Fat Natural Yoghurt
A Splash of Oil
Salt and Pepper

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Large Frying Pan
1 Large Mixing Bowl
1 Fork

The Good Bit

1. Heat a dash of oil in a frying pan and cook the strips of steak until they are evenly browned all over, remove and set aside. Now melt the butter in the frying pan and add the shallots and cook until they start to soften (2 minutes or so) then add the mushrooms and cook until all the juice from the mushrooms has gone (a good 8 minutes)
2. In the mixing bowl, mix together what's left apart from the yoghurt, pour into the frying pan and add in the steak strips, bring to a simmer and leave for 12 minutes, turn down the heat to a very low setting then add in the yoghurt, stirring all the time (you may want to leave this step for a couple of minutes until the pan is cooler so you don't risk curdling the yoghurt) once the meal is warm throughout season and serve.
   

Serves 4

Spicey Peppered Steak

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Peppercorns (freshly crushed)
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
500g Steak (cut into thin strips)
1 Red Pepper (cored, de seeded and cut into thin strips)
2 Red chillies (de seeded and finely chopped, leave seeded for extra heat)
1in Ginger (cut into matchstick size strips)
2 Cloves Garlic (crushed)
2 Tablespoons Cornflour
4 Tablespoons Water
3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Teaspoons Dark Soft Brown Sugar

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Wok
1 Garlic Press
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Spatula
1 Bowl

The Good Bit

1. Mix the cornflour and water into a smooth paste then add the soy sauce and sugar and set aside. With the oil in the wok add the beef and crushed peppercorns and stir fry rapidly for 4 minutes a until the meat is evenly browned.
2. Tip the meat along with its juices into the spare bowl, then turn down the heat and stir fry the rest of the ingredients together taking care not to brown them, just get them soft (use a low heat if you are not comfortable doing this without browning the vegetables)
3. Add the beef and its juices back to the wok and mix well then give the sauce a final stir before adding that into the pan, turn the heat back up and cook until the beef is hot and the meal is warm all the way through, serve immediately.
   

Serves 4

Ginger Beef with Peppers

Ingredients
500g Steak (thinly sliced)
2 Teaspoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
1in Fresh Ginger (finely sliced)
2 Teaspoons Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Cornflour
1 Clove Garlic (crushed)
1 Red Pepper (cored, de seeded and chopped into bite size chunks)
1 Green Pepper (cored, de seeded and chopped into bite size chunks)
1 Tablespoon Water
A Pinch of Chinese 5 Spice Powder
Thin Slices of Red Chilli (de seeded) to decorate.

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Garlic Press
1 Wok
1 Spatula
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Slotted Spoon

The Good Bit

1. Put the steak in the mixing bowl along with the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the oil, the ginger, vinegar, water, salt and cornflour, mix well and leave to stand in a fridge for 20 minutes.
2. With the rest of the oil in the wok, heat the garlic and 5 spice for 30 seconds then add the marinated steak, stir fry over a high heat to colour the the meat evenly on all sides but still leave the middle a little pink, remove the meat and set aside.
3. Now stir fry the peppers for 3 minutes then add the meat back in for a quick 1 minute blast along with any remaining marinade, serve and garnish with thin slivers of red chilli
   

Serves 4

Steak Wrap

Ingredients
4 Fillet Steaks
8 Slices Parma Ham
125g Mozzarella (sliced into 4)
Handful of Fresh Marjoram (chopped)
2 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
Salt and Pepper

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Mixing Bowl

The Good Bit

1. Mix the marjoram and garlic then season with salt and pepper, coat the steaks with this mixture then wrap with the parma ham making sure to cover all the steak.
2. Grill the steaks under a high a grill as you can for 3 minutes both sides for rare, 5-6 medium and 8 minutes for well done.
3. When the meat is done to how you like, top each wrap with with a slice of mozzarella then put back under a cooler grill until the cheese begins to melt and brown.
4. Remove from the grill and set aside for 5 minutes to let the meat rest then serve.
   

Serves 4

Beef And Bok Choy

Ingredients
1 Bok Choy or 250g Salad Leaves (torn into pieces)
500g Steak (Pieces/Cubes Whatever is cheap)
150g Mangetout or Similar
150g Baby Sweetcorn (most supermarkets do these in a pack with mangetout, BONUS)
6 Spring/Salad Onions (chopped into cm long pieces)
2 Red Peppers (cut into thin strips)
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sugar
A Splash of Oil
Noodles or Rice to Serve

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Large Wok
A Steamer (optional)
1 Spatula

The Good Bit

1. Steam your bok choy (or heat in a wok with a little water) until they start to wilt, remove and keep warm if you can.
2. Add a splash of oil to your wok (clean and dry it if you have just done your leaves in it), fry the beef until it just begins to brown on all sides, then add the mangetout, sweetcorn, spring onions, pepper, oyster and fish sauces and the sugar.
3. Stir fry (fry over a high heat but keep the food moving with your spatula) for 3 minutes or until the peppers just begins to go soft, serve this onto a bed of the bok choy or salad leaves with noodles or rice.
   

Serves 4

Steak and Tomato Salad

Ingredients
1 Teaspoon Crushed Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Cumin
2 Teaspoons Dried Oregano
4 Steaks (your choice of cut)
8 Large Tomatoes
Fresh Mint And Coriander
2 Red Onions
1 Lemon (zested and Juiced)
A Drizzle of Olive Oil
Salad Leaves (Rocket, Spinach and Basil are my choice)

Equipment
1 Large Frying Pan/ Griddles are really good for this if you have one
1 Sharp Knife
1 Spatula
A Couple of hours to spare! (for marinading purposes only)

The good bit

1. Mix together the black pepper, paprika, salt, oregano, cumin and lemon zest.
2. With your knife, score the steaks in lines vertically about 1cm apart then horizontally 1cm apart (not too deep, just enough so you can see they've been cut) rub the spice mix into the steaks, (both sides if you have plenty to spare) and leave in the fridge (or microwave) for 2 hours
3. Cut your tomatoes in half lengthways and dry fry (no oil) on your griddle until they begin to blacken 6-8minutess (do NOT turn them over)
4. In the meantime roughly chop your mint and coriander, dice your onion and mix together along with the lemon juice and a good drizzle of olive oil (if you really want to be Mediterranean then add a finely sliced clove of garlic, just don't expect to get kissed afterwards!)
5. Fry your steaks over a high heat (again using a griddle pan is excellent, use no oil if you are) Time scales is down to you, If done over a high heat, you should only need to turn over once after about 5 minutes (check to see if the side has burnt a little) after another 5 minutes on that side you should have a really juicy medium steak, obviously add a little longer for well done or less for rare.
6. Serve the steak with 4 of the charred tomato slices with a drizzle of the mint and coriander mixture over them and the salad leaves at the side.
7. Grab a beer and sit outside and enjoy, or for those of you back in Manchester, stay indoors out of the rain with your beer and just imagine your on holiday!

Serves 4