Steak Dishes with a Twist - The Local Buzz

Steak Dishes with a Twist

Caroline and Pascal Alix of Restaurant Caro & Co in Bazas, Gironde, are true lovers of cuisine, bringing a delicious element of surprise to their menu with fresh, seasonal, organic and local ingredients.

“Everything we do is homemade with love”

Caroline and Pascal Alix bring us steak dishes with a twist

Steak Tartare with Apple and Mustard

The first of these fabulous steak dishes is

Steak Tartare with Apple and Mustard (and pickled red onions!)

(Serves 4)

400g Beef tenderloin or top round, hand diced

1 tbs Dijon mustard or pickled mustard seeds

1 tsp Shallot, finely minced

1 tsp Green apple, diced

3 tbs Olive oil

1/2 tbs Diced parmesan

1 tbs Parmesan shavings

1tbs Roquette, finely chopped

2 tbs Pickled red onions

Pinch sea salt

Mixed raw vegetable shavings

To serve:

(Remember you can’t make this in advance, it must be prepared right before serving.) Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix lightly with a spoon until the beef is fully coated. Spoon the tartare onto a chilled plate. Top with mixed raw vegetables and parmesan shavings and serve with pickled red onions.

Pickled Red Onions

1½ cups Sliced red onion

1 Garlic clove

6 Bay leaves

6 Coriander seeds

3 tbs White sugar

1 tbs Salt

1/2 tsp Peppercorns

1 cup White vinegar

Thinly slice the red onion and peel the garlic. Place the onion and garlic in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Warm the sugar, salt, peppercorns, coriander seeds and bay leaves in a small saucepan. Add the vinegar and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Place a lid on the pan and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, pour the vinegar over the sliced onion and garlic, let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Once cool, use the onions immediately or transfer the onions and all the brine to a plastic container and store in the refrigerator. Use within four weeks.

Grilled Beef and Crispy Potato Tubes

The second of these steak dishes with a twist concentrates on delicious local beef

Local Grilled Beef and Crispy Potato Tubes

(Serves 4)

500g Sirloin Steak (we use Bazadaise)

20g Butter

1 Garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp Thyme

2 tbs Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Pea shoots for decoration

Marinate the steak in crushed garlic, chopped thyme and oil. Refrigerate for 30 mins. Grill each side 5-6 mins. Rest 10 mins before serving.

3 Large Ceasar or Agata potatoes, thinly sliced

100g Melted butter

40g Cornflour

Combine cornflour and butter, pour over potatoes. Create tubes/cylinders with sheets of baking paper, roll potato slices around them. Bake for 7- 8 mins at 190°C. Remove and chill.

Potato Tube Farci

300g Mashed potatoes

150g Milk

50g Cream

15g Butter

½ tsp Grated Hazelnut

Salt and pepper

Boil the milk with the cream, butter, salt and pepper and hazelnut, add mashed potatoes and, once hot, pipe mashed potatoes into the tubes.

To serve:

Place tubes on the plate, slice the sirloin steak into four, sprinkle with rock salt and pea shoots. Serve with glazed carrots.

Where to find the more unusual ingredients found in these steak dishes with a twist

Sirloin Steak Bazadaise from Boucherie Sébastian Degrèze, Bazas
Coloured carrots and blue and green meat radishes can be found in local organic vegetable farms or specialist vegetable stores such as Grandfrais.com. Order online at www.levili.com. Sometimes Leclerc can order them for you. Intermarche, local markets and vegetable shops often stock the classic red beetroots and may also have the yellow and Chioggia varieties. Ask for betterave-jaune-crue. They are sometimes found in bunches like mixed carrots and baby radish (yellow, purple, pink and green). An alternative would be mixed bell peppers/capsicums in orange, black, green, purple and yellow.
Peashoots can be found in Asian shops like Eurasia in Bordeaux or Metro for professionals. If you can’t find them, make your own! Place pea seeds on a paper tower and leave in the sunlight to shoot up.

With thanks to Restaurant Caro & Co

Caroline has also let us have a recipe for her Prawn Tartare with Medley of Vegetables and Crispy Puff Pastry which can be found online on this site

Prawn Tartare, Medley of Vegetables and Crispy Puff Pastry