Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Cooking @ Home - Grilled Organic Steak with Saffron Carrot "Pasta"


smoking hot...

When it comes to meals at home, I reckon the easiest meal is just grilling a steak. I recently bought a chargrill cast iron pan from Ikea (that great place, which sells the best deals in town) and have been obssessed with grilling food on it. Initially, I experimented with lamb cutlets and steaks but nowadays I am trying to change to a healthier tone by grilling fish instead. For instance, I just had grilled red snapper and button mushrooms on top of a nice meslun salad last night.

saffron carrot "pasta" for a not so sinful meal

What I love about my chargrill pan - the attractive ridges that appear on my food and how the flavour seems to seal in better. It needs very little oil (just a spritz on top of the meat or fish) and instead the oil drips through the ridges, so the items are free from soaking in the oil.

Back to red meat, that sinful good tasting stuff. We love the OBE beef found at Village Grocer. Somehow, the meat is sweeter and less gamey. My belief for steaks, just spend the monies on a good cut or type and grill it at home instead of wasting monies in a restaurant. Nowadays, we have so many choices; Black Angus beef, wagyu beef (though not always grade 9 so be careful what supermarkets term as wagyu!) and organic beef. A good piece of meat really needs no expensive sauce but just a dash of freshly grinded black pepper and sea salt.

With all that sinful stuff, I like to pair it with vegetables or a salad. This time I discovered the joys of David Tanis' famous saffron carrots. I love this simple yet flavourful way to cook carrots from his book, A Platter of Figs. Rather than cut them into "rounds", I like to peel them with a peeler to create a "pasta" effect. Do try the recipe as it is a doodle to make and very good. While saffron is pricey, the flavour is definitely worth it. Just imagine honey and buttery tones with a touch of citrus from the lemon zest - so damn good stuff you suddenly forget it is carrots aka the dreaded vegetable.

26 comments:

HairyBerry said...

that's a very interesting way of pasta-ing the carrots. and a lot more easier than making pumpkin and spinach pan mee...

i gotta try it out! thanks, boo!

lyminn said...

I've been wanting to get a grill pan for the longest time. I checked online and there are 2 grill pans on sale at Ikea - one with a foldable handle and one without (the more expensive), can I which one you got? It is easy to cook with?

Thanks.

boo_licious said...

Nic - yeah, it makes the food more attractive I reckon. You can also do daikon radish pasta ( but that will be raw, so soak in water for 30 mins to get rid of that raw taste). Saw the daikon idea in Morimoto's book.

lyminn - I bought the sturdy and heavy cast iron one, as I thought heat will conduct better. Didn't like the foldable one as it looked very flimsy. Was wishing for a Le Creuset one but can't afford them at all!

Precious Pea said...

This chargrill pan is non-stick? Even fish?? I must get one too!

Carrot 'pasta' looks good...can't wait to harvest my carrots and make it into 'pasta'!

Julian Si said...

Drooooooooooolicious :-)

Pasta before the Italian adventure, eh!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

woooo the grilling pan tempts me...

bcoz with a normal pan, u can the grill marks..but not like those straight sexy lines!!

totally agree with BV beef..its expensive but damn good..

Jean said...

I totally agree with you that good piece of meat doesn't need any sauce..^^
Look tasty, and love the stripes on the meat!!

Unknown said...

my my, how much did that OBE cost? whats OBE ah? order of the british empire?

Allie said...

THe carrot 'pasta' looks great! Great way to balance up the steak. The steak is making me drool!

boo_licious said...

precious pea - er, this one not non-stick but if u season it and spray the food with a little oil, it won't stick. Cool, carrots from yr garden but I can imagine those will be so sweet you can eat them raw or just steamed so you enjoy its natural goodness.

Julian - fake pasta here, before I eat pasta and pizza for 2 weeks!

Joe - ya lor, the lines seem to make the food look so much better.

Jean - high 5 dearie, I love my steaks just plain too.

YI - can't remember but probably one piece is abt RM20-25? OBE is the name of the co that supplies the beef. See their website.

http://www.obebeef.com.au/

Allie - give it a try and if you don't want to cook it in butter, just boil in water instead for a healthier alternative.

foodbin said...

grilling retains the natural juices of the beef

rokh said...

always wanted to get a grill pan...oh gosh you're tempting me to fly to ikea now...and i love carrot (not dreaded at all) but would not mind saffron-ize it ;) where do you get your saffron?

Unknown said...

Hi Boo
Can I know where do you get your saffron from? I can't seem to find it anywhere... or have I been looking at the wrong places?
I've always enjoyed your blog by the way :)

choi yen said...

beautiful char-mark on ur steak~~

Bangsar-bAbE said...

Such beautiful looking steak! Must have been wonderfully tender and juicy! =)

boo_licious said...

foodbin - yes, esp if you sear it on high heat so a crust forms!

rokh & Sue-Ann - I get it from Village Grocer. They pack it in a plastic box and hang it at the spices area.

mimi & Bangsar-babe - it was yummy stuff. Give it a try.

Unknown said...

Totally agree with you on doing steaks at home. I haven't had a steak outside for ages.

Ciki said...

respect!

lyminn said...

Thanks for the info... I'm so tempted to go to Ikea this weekend :)
My next question... how do you season the grill pan?

sc said...

aherm..can i have mine done medium rare? thanks! :p

fatboybakes said...

oh, btw, YI was me...
but u prob recognise me anywhere right

J- Myee said...

looks great~ ^^

xplorer said...

MMMM!!!! nyum nyum.Good pic+good steak = stomach rumbling
need to eat steak! need to eat steak!

Rarebeet said...

mmmmmmmmmm I'd like that for breakfast please!

boo_licious said...

Amy T - yes, same here, more satisfying to do yr own as can control it.

ciki - respect u for yr macaroons class also!

lyminn- I do the same way as a wok but I saw an amazing product recently, the greenpan grill pan! Damn good and nonstick also. So tempted to get one...

sc - by the time I send it over to u, I reckon it will be dry though!

look - oops, can't understd though?

fbb - of course lar, u are our idol mah.

life vs food - give a try?

xplorer - LOL, hope u satisfy cravings soon.

Paps - aiks! brekkie steak sounds so decadent and a great way to start the day.

maurice said...

may i know where can i get my hands on those organic steaks ? village grocer in jaya 33 as well ?

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