Thai Beef Salad

Thai Beef Salad

This Thai Beef Salad is utterly delicious and is so quick and simple to throw together, so perfect for mid week when time is often limited and precious. 

It's packed full of fiery and aromatic flavour and lots of wonderful textures and is a real crowd-pleaser.

You could use any cut of beef, but I particularly like to use a large sirloin for this and as we love it rare, that is what you will see here, but if you prefer your meat cooked a little more, of course do so to your taste. 

I like to marinate the meat overnight, but if time is lacking, marinate for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking. I have also made this with no time to marinate at all, and once drizzled with the zingy dressing it's absolutely fine, so make according to your time. 

You can also mix it up in terms of the vegetables and salad items you use - include your favourites and if you want to bulk it out, add some rice noodles and make a little extra dressing. 

Here's how:

• 1 large sirloin steak, about 2cm thick
• Marinade for the steak:
• 1 lemongrass stalk
• 1 large red chilli
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1-2cm piece of ginger
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Juice of half a lime
• 1 tbsp shaosing wine
• Drop of fish sauce

For the salad:

• 1 bag of pea shoots
• 1 large carrot
• 4-5 raddishes
• Handful baby corn
• Cucumber - about 3-4cm long section 
• Handful beansprouts
• Handful coriander leaves
• Handful salted peanuts
• 1 red chilli

For the dressing:

• 1 red chilli
• 1/2 lime juiced
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic
• Freshly grated ginger (about 1-2cm piece)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

For the steak marinade, slice the chilli, mince the garlic and slice the ginger (no need to peel), and bash the lemongrass a little and simply throw everything into a zip lock food bag, or a plastic container with the sesame oil, fish sauce, lime juice and soy sauce. Throw the steak in and allow the flavours to seep into the meat. Be sure to turn the steak over every so often, to ensure  all of the meat takes in the flavours. Pop into the fridge if marinating overnight, or if you only have an hour, leave at room temperature.

When ready to make the salad, place a griddle pan on a medium heat and allow to come up to a high temperature.

Once hot, place the sirloin  in the middle of the griddle and allow to cook for two minutes, then turn over and cook for two more minutes, and then remove from the pan and allow to rest whilst you prepare the salad and dressing.

Use a large plate or platter and scatter the pea shoots across it first.

Now peel and cut the carrots into thin matchstick sized pieces, then cut the radishes and cucumber into similar thin sticks and scatter all over the pea shoots. Now throw over the beansprouts, coriander and peanuts. If you like a lot of spice, also slice the red chilli and place all over the salad plate. 

Now make the dressing in a small bowl, literally just combine the freshly grated ginger (to taste), sliced red chilli, brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil and mix well. 

Now slice the steak as thick or thin as you'd prefer, into gorgeous slithers, place over the salad and drizzle all over with the dressing. So fresh, so simple, so delicious. Enjoy!

A London Lunch: Leon

I'm currently residing in Bankside at Southwark and so lunchtime options are quite plentiful. However during this current 1200 calorie per day healthy eating regime it can be slightly more challenging.

Leon has become a bit of a friend in recent weeks and two of their lunchtime offerings in particular offer lunchtime solace in not-meagre portions of delicious, fresh and healthy food.

The first is the classic Original Superfood Salad. This is a lean and green concoction that includes broccoli, feta, peas, quinoa, avocado, mint and parsley and some toasted seeds plus a small helping of vinaigrette and is absolutely delicious. Fresh and well-seasoned, the Original Superfood Salad is 515 calories and is a firm favourite. 

Leon Original Superfood Salad

The other Leon contender is a fairly new one, the Brazilian Black Bean Box which includes a stew of mildy spiced black beans with carrot and onions with a smattering of fragrant coriander sitting on a bed of brown rice. This is perfect when the freezing cold weather demands a hot lunch. The Brazilian Black Bean Box is 408 calories which is well worth it for the warming, hearty flavour hit it provides.

Leon Brazilian Black Bean Box

Leon offers an array of other salads, rice boxes and ‘super pots’ with things like hummus, chicken and meatballs so if looking for freshly prepared,

Smoked Salmon Shred Salad with Horseradish Dressing

Here's another delicious salad that comes in at only 315 calories and includes a delicious, creamy and punchy dressing too.

The smoked salmon provides a wonderful source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids plus lots of vitamins and minerals and the 125g smoked salmon is a generous amount too. The horseradish dressing works so well with the smoked salmon too and this doesn't feel like a 'diet' dish - it's utterly delicious and filling.

Smoked Salmon Shred Salmon with Horseradish Dressing

Here’s how:

• 125g smoked salmon
• 50g watercress
• 50g carrot
• 50g red cabbage
• 50g cucumber
• 50g radish
• 1 tbsp 0% Natural Yoghurt (I use Yeo Valley) 
• 1 tsp creamed horseradish
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 cherry tomatoes
• Pinch black pepper

Grate the carrot, red cabbage, cucumber and radish and add to the plate with the watercress and halved cherry tomatoes.

Pop the salmon on and squeeze over the lemon over the entire plate and then sprinkle on the black pepper - be generous as lemon and pepper over smoked salmon is delicious.

Now add the Fat Free Yoghurt and the creamed horseradish to a small bowl or cup and mix then add to the plate for a gorgeous dressing. Enjoy!

Spiralised Mackerel Salad

During my fat fighting and healthy eating regime I have been strictly adhering to 1200 calories a day and this particular salad is a delicious, refreshing 350 calorie meal, ideal for lunch.

I used my spiraliser and vegetable peeler to make for an interesting and crunchy texture of radish, yellow pepper, carrot and cucumber with some blanched kale and topped with pomegranate seeds for some added crunch. Using lemon juice as a natural dressing too just really peps this up.

Mackerel is a fantastic oily fish full of fabulous nutrients and can be bought so inexpensively too - what's more it's delicious.

Spiralised Mackerel Salad

Here’s how:

50g kale
1/2 pomegranate
1 carrot
4cm length of cucumber
4 radishes
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 lemon
1 peppered smoked mackerel fillet
Firstly blanch the kale in some boiled water and drain. Use some kitchen towel to take out any excess moisture and add to a plate or bowl.

Now peel the carrot and spiralise, or use a vegetable peeler to create ribbons (grating also works). Add to the plate. Do the same with the cucumber and radishes and use the peeler to make thin slithers of yellow pepper.

Remove the seeds of the pomegranate and drain out the juice (add to some water for a lovely, refreshing beverage) and scatter over the plate.

Add the mackerel fillet and squeeze the lemon over. Enjoy!

Baby Bites Feta Salad Wraps

Bridget is sixteen months old now and has been good with a spoon for a while and has been getting to grips with a little fork for a couple of months now too - but the food she loves the most are finger foods which I guess are a lot more fun for her. She is well and truly past the weaning stage now but still throws bit of food on the floor some days (any tips on eradicating that, most welcome).

These no-cook wraps use wholemeal tortillas, feta for a good hit of protein, the salad Bridget enjoys and I add, for an additional flavour layer, some fresh coriander as this goes beautifully with feta - what's even better is you can make these ahead and wrap up in the fridge in some cling film so they make a great lunchbox meal for both baby and parents. You could of course add some lettuce leaves, rocket or watercress for some additional goodness - experiment with all your favourite salad items.

I prefer to dish up ready-wrapped but you may prefer the deconstructed approach for little ones to avoid mess.

Baby Bites Feta Salad Wraps

Here's how:

(Serves x2 parents and 1x baby or toddler)

• x3 wholemeal wraps or tortillas
• 100g feta
• Handful fresh coriander
• 1 orange pepper
• 6-7 cherry tomatoes
• Half a cucumber
• Handful radishes
• 2-3 spring onions
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch black pepper

Firstly slice the peppers and the cucumber into equally sized batons.

Slice the tomatoes and radishes and finely chop the spring onions. Dice the feta into small cubes. if you wish now put all of the salad ingredients onto a plate or platter with the fresh coriander and simply serve with the wholemeal wraps on the plate and allow each person to plate and roll their own wrap.

Otherwise place each wholemeal wrap onto a plate and layer up the salad a few torn coriander leaves (to taste really) and then the feta. Now drizzle with a tiny amount of good quality extra virgin olive oil before rolling up into a wrap. Enjoy.

Tricolore Salad

There are many glorious salads that make summer eating so wonderful and the tricolore is an absolute classic. Named so after the triple colour or three coloured elements that make up both the Italian flag and of course the salad - it's simplicity doesn't take away from it's fresh, vibrant deliciousness. 

Again, this is hardly a recipe. merely a few ingredients thrown together to make up a big bowl of loveliness that can either make up a meal or act as a side with a versatile range of dishes. 

The one thing that I will advise on here is ensuring you buy the best possible quality ingredients to prepare this - with a dish so simple, there is nothing to hide behind so you don't want brown, bruised avocados or unripe tomatoes, everything needs to be just so. 

So to prepare a salad as a side for four, you need 3-4 decent sized and perfectly ripe tomatoes. Simply wash then slice and add to your salad bowl. Halve a large, ripe avocado and remove the stone, then using a teaspoon, scoop out curls of avocado flesh and add to the bowl. Pull or slice a ball of the best quality buffalo mozzarella and scatter around the salad. The final flourish is to add a generous handful of full basil leaves around the bowl and then to dress. 

Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, be generous as this really does aid the flavour with it's peppery tang. Finally, throw over some coarse sea salt a large pinch will do and some freshly ground black pepper and give a stir or a shake. 

Salmon in a Creamy Horseradish Crumb

This is such a simple yet delicious summer dish that can be prepared in less than five minutes and only takes 10-15 minutes to cook. It's hardly a recipe, just an idea for a quick, weekday winner. Can be served with new potatoes and vegetables - but I like it with a big green salad - and whatever is currently growing nicely in the garden (at the moment my gorgeous Santini tomatoes, radishes and spring onions.)

For two - simply take two salmon fillets, season all round with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you prefer to cook in the oven switch on to 180 degrees. (Personally I like to crisp up the breadcrumbs quickly whilst keeping the salmon nice and moist and juicy so I place under a hot grill instead.)

Either use pre-prepared breadcrumbs - or quickly blitz enough to coat both fillets in a food processor - white or brown or a mixture is absolutely fine here. Give the breadcrumbs a good seasoning too and scatter onto a plate. You can of course add some fresh chopped herbs here too - dill, thyme and oregano all work - but sometimes speed is of the essence and it's fab with or without the herbs.

Next place the salmon fillets into an oven proof dish or a baking tray and spoon over about 1-1.5 tablespoons to each of creamy horseradish, then dip into the breadcrumbs and ensure both top and bottoms are covered. I like to leave the sides uncovered so you can see as the fish is cooking - nobody likes dried up, over-cooked salmon! 

Finally cook the salmon - either in the oven until the breadcrumbs have turned a golden brown - or, if you prefer, follow my lead and place under a very hot grill to toast the breadcrumbs and turn half way through to ensure a lovely golden crispy crumb on both sides. You can literally see the salmon cooking this way too, so can avoid overcooking. For a decent sized fillet - it only really takes 6-7 minutes cooking each side maximum. 

A London Lunch No. 9: Pilpel – Falafel heaven

A friend and fellow blogger Leila of Swallower of Lives introduced me to Pilpel last summer and I really should thank her for that!

Falafel and hummus are the stars of the show here – it’s a great example of sticking to a small selection of lunch options and executing them very, very well.

You can either opt for a filled pitta or my preference which is a container, filled with your choice of salads, dressings and either hummus or falafel, or if you are anything like me, both.

The salads include everything from cucumber, pickled cabbage, tomatoes, feta and those Middle-Eastern staples of chickpeas, tabbouleh and an irresistible smoked aubergine that I’ve never tried outside of Pilpel which is frankly divine.

The falafels themselves are fantastic – crispy and with crunch on the outside, but moist on the inside and filled with flavour. The hummus is immense – hence why I never opt for the either/or situation – it just has to be both. They also offer guacamole if you fancy mixing it up as well as labneh which is also incredibly moreish but my preference is a good drizzle of tahini and some chilli sauce for a bit of fire.

Pitta comes with the container option and believe me that it’s always a very filling and satisfying lunch.

Everything is priced around the £5.00 mark so it offers good value for money in the centre of the city too – a definite lunch recommendation.

The Pilpel I visited is located on Brushfield Street just off of Spitalfields Market but has another concession inside the market, as well as a branch at St Pauls.