Warm salad of seared skirt steak, roast celeriac, red onions & herbs

Winter

Skirt steak is one of my favourite cuts of beef. It knocks the socks off fillet and sirloin and is relatively inexpensive by comparison. Skirt has a moist, open grain but needs careful cooking to really make it shine. You either cook it very gently for several hours until unctuous and giving, or sear it quickly on a very hot grill or in a pan and serve it pink. There is no middle ground. Here, I’m serving it with celeriac, roasted to a golden, nutty perfection alongside sweet red onions and crunchy seeds. I like to finish the salad with a couple of handfuls of fresh herbs, which lighten this gorgeous winter salad.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 celeriac (about 800g/1lb 12oz), peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 red onions, halved and each half cut into 3 or 4 wedges
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 rosemary sprigs, torn
1 small bunch of thyme, torn
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
15g (½oz) pumpkin seeds
15g (½oz) sunflower seeds
300g (10½oz) skirt steak
1 large handful of salad leaves and herbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

First, make the dressing. Put all the ingredients in a small bowl or jug, season with salt and pepper and whisk vigorously to combine. Set aside while you make the salad.

Scatter the celeriac over a large baking tray, then the onions, then the garlic, rosemary, thyme and bay. Trickle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over and season well with salt and pepper.

Place the baking tray in the hot oven and roast, turning the celeriac occasionally, for 35 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and scatter over the seeds, then return to the oven for a further 8–10 minutes, or until the celeriac is a little caramelized on the outside and tender in the middle. Remove from the oven and keep warm.

Season the steak all over with plenty of salt and pepper. Heat a medium–large frying pan over a high heat. Add the remaining olive oil and, when hot, add the steak. Cook for about 1–2 minutes on each side for rare; or 2–3 minutes on each side for medium. Lift the steak from the pan and keep warm.

Take a large, warmed serving platter and scatter over the roasted vegetables and seeds. Slice the skirt steak thickly across its grain and place this on and around the celeriac. Top with the salad leaves, then trickle over the dressing and bring to the table.

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