Moroccan Beef Couscous Warm Salad

Now this dinner came about because of two ingredients. One was the ribs eye steaks I bought a few days ago. As I said at the time they were not only on the bone, but they were enormous. To get them both a more normal size (and to fit them in the pan!) I decided to cut a large strip off each one and put them in the fridge for another dinner. The other was a perfect, round green courgette I cut from the greenhouse today. I couldn't chop it and ruin the shape so I cut it into wedges for this dish. You can use any courgette though of course.

Packed with flavour, this beef salad is served warm with couscous, apricots, almonds, creamy feta, coriander yoghurt and a generous helping of my red pepper pesto. Great for a dinner and impressive enough for a dinner party. I'd serve this in the garden to guests with a glass of crisp, dry white wine.

Ingredients:    (serves 2)

2 steaks (of your choice)
2 tsp. olive oil + 2 tbsp. for couscous
2 tsp. zatar seasoning (optional)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup couscous
2 cups vegetable stock (cube is fine)
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
25g coriander, chopped
1 courgette
6 dried apricots, quartered
50g feta cheese
handful sliced almonds
2 tbsp. natural yoghurt, with chopped coriander stirred in
2 tbsp. red pepper walnut pesto (recipe at bottom of page)

Method:

Season the steaks with a little salt & pepper, rub with the oil and zatar, if using, and garlic powder. Wrap in cling film and leave to marinade for 30 mins.

Put the couscous into a bowl and add the hot stock. Cover with cling film for 3-4 minutes and then add the tomatoes, onion & coriander, stir through with a tablespoon of olive oil. Re-cover and set aside.

Cut the courgette into wedges and sprinkle with salt & pepper and a drizzle of oil. Pop in a 200 C oven for ten minutes. Remove and set to one side.

Fry the steaks for about 7 minutes, turning half way through until cooked to your liking, remove and cover with foil to rest for 5 minutes.

To assemble: Get a large plate and spread out the couscous. Slice the steak on the diagonal and lay over the top of the couscous. Scatter around the courgette pieces and apricots. Crumble over the feta and top with sliced almonds. To finish, add a spoonful or two of coriander yoghurt and a couple of red pepper pesto. Serve warm.

For the red pepper pesto:

Chop two or three roasted peppers finely (I used ones from a jar) and put into a bowl. Add 20g breadcrumbs, 30g chopped walnuts, 1 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. olive oil. Either serve chunky or put into a hand blender if you prefer it smooth. A lovely alternative pesto that works so well with Moroccan flavours.

Three Pork Wellington with a Creamy Dijon Sauce

This was yet another one of those open the fridge decisions. It reminds me a little bit of the old TV show 'Ready Steady Cook' which I used to love years ago (new series back on but its not as good) where contestants are given half a dozen ingredients and they have to come up with a snap decision for a recipe. That is often how I cook. Well, the fridge gave me a pork tenderloin and some ready made pastry. With a nose in the freezer for additional help I thought pork wellington!

A twist on the Beef Wellington which is a fillet of beef wrapped in a mushroom duxelle and covered in pastry. The Bloke, as mentioned before, hates mushrooms (which is usually used in a beef wellington), so I grabbed an Irish white pudding and some speck (a type of prosciutto) out of the freezer to defrost.

So we had pork fillet, pork white pudding and pork ham. Three porks.. well.. why not? I have to say I was unsure, but went ahead. And it was delicious. Three Pork Wellington with Creamy Dijon Sauce.

Ingredients:      (Serves up to 4 slices)

1 pork tenderloin (about 420g)
2 tbsp. oil
salt & pepper
200g white pudding
200g frozen spinach
1/2 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
80g prosciutto (or speck)
1 pack ready rolled puff or shortcrust pastry
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten

Method:

Set the oven to 200 C. Take the pork tenderloin and cut off 1/3, cutting off the thinner end (the tenderloin gets thinner at one end and you want the same size). Pop the thinner cut off into a bag and put in the fridge or freezer for another use (maybe a stir fry, or chopped into a meatloaf with pork mince?). Season the large piece left and heat the oil in a frying pan. Sear all sides of the pork and pop in the oven for fifteen minutes to start the cooking process. Remove from oven and leave to cool, then cover and pop in the fridge while you make the rest.

Put the frozen spinach into a small pan with boiling water and cook for a few minutes until soft. Drain and put into a clean tea towel, twist and squeeze to remove the water from it and put onto a chopping board. Chop finely and put into a mixing bowl with the white pudding. Fry the chopped onion and garlic until soft and add to the mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the white pudding, onion and spinach together. Set to one side.

Set the oven again to 200 C. To assemble: Lay out the ready rolled puff pastry on a floured board. Spread the mustard over the pastry leaving a frame and then lay the prosciutto over the pastry. Take the white pudding mix and spread it oven the top of the prosciutto and then put the (now cooled) pork on the top (see pic below):

Carefully roll up and trim the sides. Seal well using a wet finger to ensure all pastry sealed and there are no gaps. Put onto a greased baking tray with the sealed side on the bottom. Use any cut off pastry to make a decoration on the top and brush with the beaten egg.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. The pastry will be golden and the meat cooked though. If you have a meat thermometer, use it to double check the pork has an internal temperature of about 155 F.

To serve, cut the ends off and discard. Cut the Wellington in half and serve for two large portions. Or into four, for a smaller serving slice. Serve with vegetables and a gravy of your choice. I made a Dijon cream sauce (recipe below):


For the Dijon sauce:

Slice 3 shallots and chop 1 clove garlic. Fry in a little oil until cooked and add 1 cup white wine. Cook on a high heat until reduced by half. Add 1 cup vegetable stock and again cook on a high heat until reduced again by half. Add about 140ml double cream and turn the heat to medium. Season with a little salt and pepper and add 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard. Stir through and cook on low for a couple of minutes and its ready.


Note: You want to err on the side of overcooked with pork, undercooked pork can cause food poisoning. The times and temperatures above will be ample (I cooked a little longer than usual), but when you cut into the pork you will be able to tell. It may still be a tiny bit pink but no blood should be coming out of it. If unsure, pop back in the oven for 5 mins after cutting - it won't do the wellington any harm.

Note 2: White pudding can be bought in the UK - Waitrose sell a few types - but if you can't get hold of it you can try with black pudding, which is readily available in UK stores. It really is worth trying to find the white pudding if you can though. Irish readers - you are lucky!