STRONG MEAT

                                                                                                                   

It could be said that I am a 'meat + potatoes' 'girl'. This in spite of loving to prepare & eat vegetables, to at times being almost vegetarian. 

It seems I discovered sex + food at the same time. Not 'real' sex - just adolescent 

fiddling.

At twelve I fell in love with minced beef balls + rice + a famous brand of tomato 
sauce. This all mashed together. I could not get enough of it. Then there was always steak + chips. The steak was most likely wellish done. There were a few times that we visited a family friend that was like us, Jewish but, like us, unobservant. This tiny man prepared for us (oh sin of sins! ) thick fillets of beef in butter. It was heavenly.

After leaving school  I became a restaurant habitue. Steak went from medium via medium-rare to rare & then I discovered 'bleue' - just seared on the outside practically raw inside.

My sexual + gastronomic education continued apace - I had Steak Tartare (see     Wikipedia) - RAW MEAT! I ate it with trepidation & found it surprisingly like . . .
well steak.

Then Carpaccio-those paper thin slices of raw meat - became the rage. The first

time I served it to paying guests, to a lot of tough manly men who preferred their meat 'well-done', they went mad for it.

It was difficult to slice but I discovered frozen slices, with a fine line of fat, @ the
Chinese provender. These I served for years in many variations. By then all kinds 
could be found from okapi to ostrich. It was  becoming ho-hum, ennui was setting in.

I predicted that Steak Tartare would make a comeback & now it has!

Here is my recipe.

STEAK TARTARE-THE ASIAN VERSION
serves 6 as a Main Course

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 x ghee-made roti
• ghee - melted
• 750g x beef (rump/sirloin/topside - tastier  than fillet) - semi frozen
• 6 x baby leeks
• sesame oil 
• sesame seeds - toasted
• TABASCO sauce (the RED real stuff)
• good soya sauce
• freshly ground black pepper / dried papaya seeds / Sichuan pepper

METHOD:

• brush the roti  with melted ghee
• cut each roti into 8 x wedges
• crisp to golden-brown in a 180C oven
• take a scalpel-sharp knife & cut beef into thin steaks
• then cut into strips
• then cut into small cubes
• slice leeks (green + white parts) into medium rings
• pile the beef + leeks together
• sprinkle with sesame oil + soya
• start chopping mixture
• add more oil + soya to taste & chop some more
• add Tabasco + pepper to taste
• chop until you get the texture you desire
• mix in  the sesame seeds to taste
• arrange , chefily, on 6 plates with the roti
• serve with a fruity + spicy chutni / relish + wasabi
• I serve  it with a confit of beetroot julienne + sugar + Balsamico + orange juice + orange zest + aniseed

SO WE GET SWEET / SOUR / SALTY / BITTER / UMAMI