Steak with Chimichurri and Cassava Fries. This dish is inspired by South American food and particularly the food I have tasted at a local Aberdeen restaurant, Latinway. I have had Cassava Fries a few times over the years, but this is the first time I have tried to make them myself. Cassava is a root vegetable, used a lot in South American and Caribbean cooking. Cassava is starchy, like a potato, but a lot tougher when raw and creamier when cooked. Preparing a Cassava is quite labour intensive as you must peel the outer layer and ensure that it is cooked through which takes longer than you might think. As for the rest of the dish, I have used great quality fillet steak from a local butcher, Meet the Meat and served it all along side a spicy Chimichurri salsa. I also used Chumichurri in my recipe for Sesame Seared Tuna Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce.
Let me know if you try this recipe out, using #documentingmydinner on Instagram.
Recipe
Serves 2
Difficulty Level: Top Chef
Ingredients:
- 2 fillet steaks (I used 8oz steaks)
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
For the Cassava Fries:
- Approx 500g Cassava
- Sunflower oil, for frying
- Two large handfuls of sweet corn
- 200ml mayonnaise
- Clive of garlic
- One lime
- Salt
For the Chimichurri
- Two large handfuls of parsley, coriander or a mixture of both
- 1 red chilli, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, bashed with a large knife and peeled
- Approx 100ml olive oil or chilli oil
- Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Teaspoon lime juice
- Salt and Pepper
Method:
- First prepare the Cassava. The outer layer has to be removed. Cut the cassava in half, and peel the skin with a sharp paring knife. Cut the flesh into thick chip shapes. Remove the visible thin core.
- Fill a large pan of salted water. Add the cassava fries and boil for 30 minutes until soft. It is important they are cooked and soft at this stage, so it might take slightly longer than 30 minutes.
- Drain the cassava and allow to dry and cool (about 30 minutes)
- Meanwhile, make the Chimichurri. Add all the ingredients apart from the oil and vinegar to a blender or mini chopper (I used a nutri bullet). Pulse just until all the herbs are roughly chopped. Stir through the oil and the vinegar and season with salt and a little pepper.
- For topping the Cassava Fries with, dry fry the sweet corn until charred. Mix together the mayonnaise with the juice and zest of a lime, the crushed garlic clove and a little salt. Set aside both until ready to serve.
- When the Cassava Fries have cooled, they are ready to fry. Heat a large pan around 1/3 of the way up with sunflower oil and heat to 190C. Use a thermometer for accuracy- they can be bought for less than £10.
- When the oil is hot, fry the Cassava Fries until crisp and golden, around 6-8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the fillet steaks to your liking. My top tips for cooking steak is to season the steak with oil, salt and pepper before placing in a very hot pan. Timings will be different depending on the thickness of your steak and the best way to gauge the done-ness is by using a thermometer. For medium rare, the steak should be 60C when you remove it from the pan.
- Serve the fillet steaks on Chimichurri and on the side serve the Cassava Fries topped with garlic lime mayonnaise and charred corn. Enjoy!
