Recipe 1: Steak With Warm Green Bean Tarragon Salad and Roasted Parsnip Purée

Steak With Warm Green Bean Tarragon Salad and Roasted Parsnip Purée

Shopping List

• Steak: 1 Strip-loin / New York strip
• Parsnips: 2 large of 3 - 4 medium sizes
• Green Beans:  1 large handful
• Fresh Tarragon: Substitute fresh baby dill or chives if tarragon unavailable.
• Green Onions: 1 bunch
• Lemon: 1
• Half & Half: 250 ml carton (you can use milk if you want)

Pantry Items

• Good Olive Oil
• Honey
• Dijon Mustard - Or a nice grainy mustard
• Butter
• Salt & Pepper - Kosher Salt is what I usually use.

Tarragon Dijon Lemon Dressing:

If your blender has a small cup, use it.  In your blender:
add the zest from the entire lemon (the microplane is our friend here, or the finest grater you have)
cut a wedge from the lemon for use in the purée later
use the rest of the juice from the lemon:

add a heaped tablespoon of dijon:

add a hefty pinch of salt
add an equal amount of good quality olive oil to what is already in the blender:

add half the package of tarragon leaves -- strip them from the stems

blend then taste and add honey until you are happy with its sweetness.  It should be a little tart as it is a salad, and the acid will help with the richness that will also be on the plate.

Roasted Parsnip Purée:

pre-heat oven to 450ºF / 230ºC
clean then completely coat the green onions in oil and a pinch of salt:

place on the oven rack with a sheet pan below it:
cook until slightly blackened - we want that charred flavour:

Drop the temperature in the oven to 400ºF
Peel & cube parsnips into 1.5-3 cm cubes
Toss in oil with a pinch of salt and spread onto a sheet pan

Cook until soft, and lightly browned:

Throw the parsnips and onions into the blender:

add a few good grinds of pepper
add a squeeze of lemon (saved from the dressing recipe)
add half & half to help make it smooth and creamy

Blend until mostly smooth:

Taste and re-season with S&P


Warm Green Bean Tarragon Salad:

Trim the beans:

Blanch and chill the beans (ice water bath, or if lazy, directly into the fridge)
Warm 1/3 of the tarragon dijon lemon dressing in a pan, and add the beans and toss to coat:

Remove from the pan with tongs to avoid over-dressing the salad

Steak:

Buy a steak that is around 2-3 cm thick as it makes cooking it properly much easier (plan for leftovers if that is too much meat)

Take the steak out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking.  It should be room temperature before starting

Hot Pan - heat your frying pan on high heat for a couple minutes while you season both sides with a lot of Salt and Pepper and a splash of oil:

Put your fan on high, and turn off your smoke detector! it will smoke.
Hard sear on both sides 2 minutes each without moving it:

Then use tongs to hold it on the fatty edge for 1-2 minutes:

Then flip for a minute at a time on each side until desired doneness:  I use the press test to tell when it is done.

Remove from heat spread a pat of butter on the steak, and let it rest 5 minutes:

Slice across the steak, on a slight bias:

Plate up and enjoy!