Red meat for Christmas

• Drunken steak with shallots and roasted potatoes and vegetables

• When hosting a large group of people for Christmas its best to ensure that you have at least three different meat dishes, white meat preferably poultry, red meat of any choice and fish. Also ensure that you have a vegetarian dish. This way you cannot go wrong, in ensuring that all your guests are happy with at least one option.

• Cooking poultry should always be well done, just ensuring that it is moist on the inside.

• Cooking fish, also make sure it’s not too dry and overcooked.

• When cooking red meat, you can cook to a temperature of your choice, as long as the meat is fresh.

• Today, I would like to propose a simple yet exciting recipe which I’m sure your guests will enjoy. Turn your beef into a drunken steak, with an accompaniment of shallots and roasted potatoes, or grilled asparagus. This is a very simple recipe, which goes to show that cooking good food does not have to be difficult.

• Ingredients for Steak

• Dark Rum – small cup

• Brown sugar

• Ginger – chopped

• Spring onions chopped

• Shallots chopped

• Soy sauce (light)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Beef loin

• Ingredients for confit shallots

• Clean shallots halved

• Brown sugar

• Thyme

• Pepper

• Red wine

• Garlic crushed

• Cinnamon stick

• Salt to taste

• Method

• Make a marinade from the rum, sugar, ginger, spring onions, shallots and soy sauce and a sprinkle of salt to taste. Add the marinade and loin into a zip bag, shake well and allow to marinade chilled for 4 to 5 hours. If you’re cooking your loin from a pan, sear the beef on all sides into a lightly oiled grill pan. I prefer to cook it medium rare. If you prefer your food well done, you can continue to cook your steak in the oven until fully cooked. If you are cooking on open fire, you can cook your meat until you reach the desired temperature. If you do not take alcohol, do not worry, the cooking process will absorb the alcohol leaving just the desired taste to the meat.

• Let the meat rest, so not cut straight away.

• Accompaniment – Shallots confit

• Throw in the sprig of thyme and crushed garlic into well-oiled pan. Add the clean and halved shallots, cinnamon stick and wine. Add sugar and let it dissolve into sauce and let it reduce to a smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

• Serving

• Once the meat is rested and ready to serve slice against the grain into desired pieces and serve with roast potatoes and some grilled vegetables with an accompaniment of shallots confit. Enjoy!

Source: Seychelles Nation