This is minimalist and no-fuss. Here, you can eat light yet still satisfy a midweek craving for medium-rare beef. The salad's dressing consists of a decidedly different set of ingredients, with a savory result that matches the steak.
Serve with baby beets.
Seared Beef With Celeriac Salad
6 ounces beef tenderloin, about 1 1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon peanut oil
1/2 head celeriac (celery root)
10 chives
Leaves from 4 stems flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons silken tofu
2 tablespoons light miso
1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi paste
1/2 lemon
Season the meat well with salt and pepper.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once it's very hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the beef and sear 5 to 6 minutes on each side, forming a brown crust on the top and bottom. Transfer to a cutting board to rest while you make the salad.
Peel the celeriac. Cut the 1/2 head in half; grate each half using the large-holed side of a box grater. (Or you can cut the celeriac into long pieces and shred in a food processor fitted with a shredding/grating disk.) Place the shredded celeriac in a mixing bowl.
Finely chop the chives and parsley; add them to the bowl.
Whisk together the tofu, miso and wasabi in a liquid measuring cup. Squeeze 1 tablespoon of juice from the lemon half into the cup. Pour into the bowl with the celeriac and toss to coat evenly. Taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Cut the meat into thin slices and arrange on individual plates. Mound the celeriac salad alongside. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 2 servings.
Adapted from Itsu: The Cookbook by Julian Metcalfe and Blanche Vaughan (Mitchell Beazley, 2014).
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 230 calories, 23 g protein, 16 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat, 55 mg cholesterol, 900 mg sodium and 3 g fiber.
Food on 09/10/2014