Healthy Steak ‘n’ Onions on Mash
Serves 1
I grew up longing for breakfast at my grandma’s house, because breakfast usually meant a huge tray of steak, onions and gravy, and a big pot of creamy mashed potatoes. One of the hardest parts about being on a diet is not being able to eat some of the food you associate with love and happy memories, so it is with such thoughts in mind that I thought we all needed a plate of healthy steak, onions and gravy with a creamy mash.
Cauliflower mash
3 garlic cloves, skin on
170 g (6 oz) cauliflower florets
Himalayan salt and freshly
ground black pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme leaves
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cumin
70 g (2 ½ oz) red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari
100 g (31/2 oz) piece of lean beef, like fillet or rump
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) and place the garlic cloves on a piece of foil and wrap like a parcel. Place the garlic in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, or until the garlic is soft. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Place the cauliflower florets in a pot with just enough water to cover and season with a teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to the boil, then reduce the heat until the water is rapidly simmering. Cook the cauliflower for 12–15 minutes, or until very tender.
Drain the water from the cooked cauliflower and mash by placing the cooked florets into a small powerful blender along with the flesh squeezed from the roasted garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper and add the rosemary leaves along with the nutmeg and cumin. Blend until very smooth. Place some foil over the mash to keep warm while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Heat a heavy-based frying pan over medium–hot temperature and when there is a light haze coming off the pan, add the onions and 1 tablespoon of tamari. Cook the onions for 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions are soft and tender. Remove from the pan and set aside.
With the pan back over medium–high heat, wait for the light haze to come off the pan again and then add the steak. Season the steak with salt and pepper and cook the steak for 1 minute, before flipping and cooking on the other side for 1 minute. Remove the steak from the pan, and allow it to rest with the onions under a little foil.
Add 1 more tablespoon of tamari to the pan together with 3 tablespoons of water and create a little gravy in the pan, swirling and stirring with a wooden spoon to pick up any flavours that may have cooked on to the bottom of the pan. Toss in a few sprigs of thyme leaves and season with a little salt and pepper.
Serve the cauliflower mash on the plate topped with the steak and scattered with the cooked onions. Finish with a drizzle of the pan gravy.
Tip Choose a lean cut for your portion of steak. I like to use a fillet steak, as it’s extremely lean and super tasty but you can also use a thin slice of rump, which is lean and flavoursome too.
Tip If raw garlic isn’t your thing, roasted garlic will be your best friend! When garlic is roasted in a hot oven, whole in its skins, the flavour mellows and sweetens making it a wonderful addition to soups, dressings and dishes like cauliflower mash.
