Recipe Category: Beef

By Chef Mitchel Brett Govender

CHEF’S NOTE:

Sirloin is my second favorite cut of steak behind Ribeye. For this dish, you can use whatever cut of steak you like but sirloin works best. The sweet potato hash is perfect to make. This is a healthy dish for your friends and family, and an ultimate excuse to show off your cooking skills. The salsa verde sauce complements the steak and hash excellently. Your friends and family are sure to be blown away by the simple flavors of this dish at the dinner table.

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients for Sweet potato hash

2 tbsp olive oil
1 sweet potato – medium diced
1/3 cup broccoli florets
1/3 cup white onion – medium diced
1/3 cup parsley – finely chopped

Ingredients for salsa verde

1 bunch parsley – chopped
1 bunch coriander – chopped
1 bunch spring onions – chopped
1tsp capers
2 pieces anchovy fillets
1 cup oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ tsp chili flakes
1 clove garlic

Ingredients for steak

200gr sirloin steak
Knob of butter
Fresh thyme sprig
1 clove garlic smashed

METHOD:

Salsa Verde Sauce

In a food processor, add capes, red wine vinegar, garlic, chillie flakes and anchovies. Blend for 1 minute.

Add all herbs and blend together slowly.

Slowly add olive oil to the mixture and then salt and pepper to taste.

Set aside for later.

Sweet Potato Hash

In a sauté pan, on medium heat, add oil. Wait until the oil is hot.

Add sweet potato and season with salt, whilst stirring the sweet potato.

Cook until sweet potato is tender and soft.

Remove and set aside in a bowl.

Add more oil to the pan and on a medium heat add onion.

Sweat down the onion and stir frequently to avoid burning.

Add salt and pepper and cook until golden brown.

Combine sautéed onions and sweet potato into a bowl.

In the same pan, add some oil and cook broccoli florets. Add salt and pepper.

Cook until soft and add florets to the onion and sweet potato combination.

Add parsley and mix well.

Set aside.

Sirloin

In a pan, on medium heat, add oil. Leave to heat.

Season steak with salt and pepper.

Add steak to the pan, giving the first side a god sear for 3 minutes.

Turn steak over. Adding the knob of butter, garlic, and fresh thyme, baste the steak by spooning the butter over it.

Cook for 3 minutes. (You may cook the steak longer, depending on your preferred temperature for steaks).

Remove the steak and allow for it to rest.

To serve, plate hash on the bottom of the plate. Slice steak and place on top. Spoon over the salsa verde and serve.

2kg beef brisket
Salt
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
3 large onions, sliced
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig rosemary
3-4 bay leaves
2 cups of beef stock
2-3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 Tbsp mustard (optional
Directions
1. Prepare the brisket for cooking. If there are any large chunks of fat, cut them off and discard them. Large pieces of fat will not be able to render out completely. Using a sharp knife, score the fat in parallel lines, about 2cm apart. Slice through the fat, not the beef. Repeat in the opposite direction to make a cross-hatch pattern. Salt the brisket well and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. You’ll need an oven-proof, thick-bottomed pot with a cover, that is just wide enough to hold the brisket roast with a little room for the onions. Pat the brisket dry and place it, fatty side down, into the pot and place it on medium high heat. Cook for 5-8 minutes, lightly sizzling, until the fat side is nicely browned. Turn the brisket over and cook for a few minutes more to brown the other side.
3. When the brisket has browned, remove it from the pot and set aside. There should be a couple tablespoons of fat rendered in the pot, if not, add some olive oil. Add the chopped onions and increase the heat to high. Sprinkle a little salt on the onions. Sauté, stirring often, until the onions are lightly browned, 5-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Use string to tie together the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme. Move the onions and garlic to the sides of the pot and nestle the brisket inside. Add the beef stock and the tied-up herbs. Bring the stock to a boil. Cover the pot, place the pot in the 150°C oven and cook for 3 hours. Carefully flip the brisket every hour so it cooks evenly.
5. After 3 hours, add the carrots. Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour more, or until the carrots are cooked through and the brisket is falling-apart tender.
6. When the brisket is falling-apart tender, take the pot out of the oven and remove the brisket to a cutting board. Cover it with foil. Pull out and discard the herbs.
7. At this point you have two options. You can serve as is, or you can make a sauce with the drippings and some of the onions. If you serve as is, skip this step. To make a sauce, remove the carrots and half of the onions, set aside and cover them with foil. Pour the ingredients that are remaining into the pot into a blender, and purée until smooth. If you want, add 1 tablespoon of mustard to the mix. Put into a small pot and keep warm.
8. Serve the brisket, sliced in 1/2cm-1cm slices, against the grain of the meat, with the onions, carrots and gravy. Serve with mashed, roasted or boiled Yield: Serves 8-12

Sauce
2 cups reserved cooking liquid from beef
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup oyster sauce
2 cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1 chilli, finely chopped

2 l beef stock
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup oyster sauce
4 cm piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves
750 g beef short ribs
Directions
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and allow to simmer gently for 2-3 hours until the beef is tender.
2. Reserve one cup of the cooking liquid and drain the beef.
3. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and allow to cook for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
4. Add the beef to the sauce and allow to cook for another 10 minutes, coating the beef with the sauce.
5. Serve wih rice, couscous or mashed potato

1 whole fillet
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Wholegrain mustard
Directions
Preheat oven to 250°C.
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon this over coating the entire fillet.
Put this on a tray and pop it into the oven.
The cooking time is 25 minutes. (20 minutes if it’s a small fillet of about 1kg) This is the perfect amount of time to please all at the dinner table. The head and middle section of the fillet will be medium rare while the tail will be more on the medium side.
Cover with tin foil and rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Serve with wholegrain mustard mixed with a few tablespoons of cream.

600g piece beef rump steaks, cut into 4 pieces
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 x 55g can green peppercorns in brine, drained
1/4 cup brandy (optional)
1/2 cup beef stock
1/2 cup thickened cream
Salad leaves, to serve
Directions
Meanwhile, season steak with salt and pepper. Drizzle with half the oil. Rub to coat. Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Cook steak for 3 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate. Cover to keep warm.
Heat remaining oil in pan over medium heat. Cook onion for 3 minutes or until softened. Add peppercorns and brandy, if using. Bring to the boil. Add stock. Bring to the boil. Boil for 2 minutes or until reduced by half. Add cream. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened.
Serve steak with peppercorn sauce, salad leaves and fries

6 Portuguese Rolls
8-10 Minute Steaks
Papaya skin (most important to tenderize meat)
1/2 cup white wine
4 cloves garlic crushed
3 chilies roughly chopped
2 lemons juiced
Ground black pepper
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
1 red onion roughly chopped
500g cherry tomatoes
½ tsp cayenne pepper
Directions
Marinade the meat with the wine, garlic, chilli, lemon, pepper, papaya skin and herbs. Allow to marinade for a couple hours. The papaya skin releases a tenderising enzyme that will make the steaks so soft they will melt in your mouth. When you are ready to cook the steaks drain the marinade and set it aside. Heat up the pan until it is smoking hot.
Meanwhile in a pan with a bit of oil brown the onions. Once they have taken a bit of colour add the left over marinade that you drained off from the steaks.This is perfectly healthy use as it is getting cooked. Add the cherry tomatoes and cayenne pepper. Simmer away until the tomatoes fall apart. Season with salt, pepper and a bit of sugar.
In the searing hot pan, put the steaks on for about 2 minutes on each side. Toast the Rolls in the oven for a couple minutes so the go crispy. Put a piece of steak on the roll, spoon over some of the relish and get stuck in.

1 slice white or brown bread
60 ml (¼ cup) milk
2 medium onions, 1 finely chopped, 1 sliced into rings
1 cloves garlic, crushed,
about 10 (25 g) sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
5 ml (1 tsp) ground cumin
30 ml (2 Tbsp) chopped fresh parsley or 10 ml (2 tsp) dried
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
600g Topside beef mince
cooking oil for frying
6 hamburger rolls
4 big Flat Mushrooms
4 slices Cheddar Cheese
Directions
Soak bread in milk for a few minutes. Mix together with all other ingredients.
Shape mixture into six patties to firm up, then press lightly to flatten. Fry the onions in a pan and add a bit of sugar to get them caramelised
Heat oil in a heavy-based frying pan and fry patties for about 4 minutes on each side, or until done and brown.
At the same time grill the mushrooms until they are grilled and brown.
Place the patties on base of hamburger rolls, filled with lettuce, Place a slice of cheese on top, then a mushroom and to finish it off, place some of the caramelized onions. Serve with a sauce of choice and cover.

1kg bone in beef shin
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter or
1/2 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 lemon, zest peeled off in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
1 head garlic, cut horizontally through the middle
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cups red wine
2-3 cups beef broth
14 oz can whole tomatoes, hand-crushed
Directions
Season shanks with a sprinkle of salt and plenty of pepper. (The salt will help draw out some of the moisture from the meat and help it sear.)
Heat a large oven proof pot over medium heat and hit it with a good drizzle of olive oil. Add the butter. Sear the shin, turning carefully with tongs, until all sides are a rich brown color. Drizzle with a little more oil, if needed. (Do this in batches if the shanks are big and look crowded in the pot.) Remove the browned beef shin to a side plate. There will be a lot of flavor left over in the bottom of the pot. You’re going to use that to create your sauce.
Using the same pot, saute the onion, celery, carrots, lemon zest, bay leaves, and parsley over medium heat. Cook the vegetables down until they start to get some color. Season with salt and pepper; add a little oil if needed. Put the shin back in the pot. Pour in the wine and let it simmer down for 10 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half. Reducing is key for intense flavor. Add the beef broth, the halved garlic head and tomatoes and stir everything together.
Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Preheat an oven to 180 C and pop it in there for another hour or so with the lid off. Make sure that the liquid reduces substantially as this will concentrate the flavour. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest. Serve with Mashed Potato, rice or polenta.

30 ml (2 Tbsp) olive oil or cooking oil
1,5 – 2 kg Karan beef Silverside
1 onions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
500 ml (2 cups) beef stock
45 ml (3 Tbsp) coarsely chopped fresh thyme or 15 ml (1 Tbsp) dried
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
about 4 large potatoes, quartered
250 g patty pans
125 g baby marrows
125 ml (1/2 cup) cream
30 ml (2 Tbsp) cake flour for thickening
Directions
Heat oil in a heavy-based saucepan. Add beef and fry until browned on all sides.
Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft. Heat stock, add together with thyme and seasoning. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until meat is tender.
Add potatoes and boil for about 15 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cream and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
Remove meat and carve into thin slices. If preferred, thicken sauce with a paste of flour and water. Serve beef slices with vegetables.

Sweet-And-Sour Sauce
30 ml (2 Tbsp) cooking oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
30 ml (2 Tbsp) tomoato paste
45 ml (3 Tbsp) fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
10 ml (2 tsp) chopped fresh rosemary or 3 ml (¼ tsp) dried
60ml (4 Tbsp) light brown sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) hot beef stock
45ml (3 Tbsp) Worcestershire sauce
10 ml (2 tsp) mustard powder
Directions
Place the short ribs in a large ovenproof dish or roasting pan.
To prepare the sauce, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic until soft. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for ten minutes, stirring frequently.
Pour the sauce evenly over the ribs. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about one hour, basting frequently with the sauce until the ribs are cooked. Serve with savoury rice.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
500g lean beef mince
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
400g can diced tomatoes
1 red capsicum, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/3 cup beef stock
300g can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1/2 cup coriander leaves, chopped
8 flour tortillas (see note)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
sour cream and salad leaves, to serve
Directions
Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add mince. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until browned.
Add cumin, paprika and chilli powder. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add tomatoes, capsicum, tomato paste and stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Stir in beans and coriander.
Warm tortillas following directions on packet. Divide beef mixture between tortillas. Spread along centre of tortillas. Roll up to enclose filling. Place in a large, greased baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and burritos start to brown. Serve with sour cream and salad leaves.