Thai Beef Salad

Organic Cooking - Spring

SERVES 4

-675g/1 1|2 lb fillet (tenderloin) or rump (round) beef steak;

-30 ml/2tbsp olive oil;

-225g/8oz/3 1|4 cups shiitake mushrooms;

-2 small miid red chillies, seeded and sliced.

For the dressing

-3 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped;

-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped;

-juice of 1 lime;

-15-30ml/1-2 tbsp fish or oyster sauce;

-5ml/1tsp unrefined soft light brown sugar or rappadura;

-30ml/2tbsp chopped corlander (cilantro).

To Serve

-1 cos or romaine lettuce, torn into strips;

-175g/6oz cherry tomatoes, halved;

-5cm/2in piece cucumber, peeled, halved and thinly sliced;

-45ml/3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds.

1. Preheat the grill (boiler) until hot, then cook the steak for 2-4 minutes on each side, depending on how well done you like steak. Leave the beef to cool for at least 15 minutes.

2. Use a very sharp knife to slice the meat as thinly as possible and place the slices in a bowl.

3. Heart the olive oil in a small frying pan. Finely slice the mushrooms and add them with the seeded and sliced red chillies and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and add the grilled steak slices to the pan, then stir well to coat the beef slices thoroughly in the cooked chilli abd mushroom mixture.

4. Stir all the ingredients for the dressing together, then pour it over the meat mixture and toss gently.

5. Arrange the salad ingredients on a serving plate. Spoon the warm steak mixture in the center and sprinkle the sesane seeds over. Serve at once.

Nutritional info per portion: Energy 381kcal/1591 kj; Protein 39.8g; Carbohydrate 4.1g of which sugar 3.8g, Fat 23g of which saturate 6.6g, Cholesterol 103mg, Calcium 105mg, Fibre 2.5g, Sodium 352mg.