A quintessentially American-style medley
Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
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This seems a quintessentially American salad. Romaine leaves, rare steak, buttermilk and blue cheese tick all the boxes. I make it with Cashel Blue, but you could use another blue cheese, though Roquefort is too salty.
Requires cooling and resting time
Overview
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
50 mins
Serves
4
Ingredients
- 8 plum tomatoes, halved
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ¼ tsp ground cayenne
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp caster sugar (optional)
- 4 hanger steaks (also known as onglet), about 165g each
- Groundnut oil
- Leaves from 1 head of romaine, separated, washed and carefully dried
For the dressing
- 100ml buttermilk
- 50g mayonnaise
- 2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
- 50g blue cheese, crumbled
Method
Step
Heat the oven to 190C/180C fan/gas mark 5.
Step
Put 8 halved plum tomatoes in a small roasting tin where they can lie in a single layer.
Step
Mix together 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, ¼ tsp ground cayenne and 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil with some seasoning, and pour it over the tomatoes. Turn the tomatoes round in this and finish with them cut-side up.
Step
Season again and sprinkle on 2 tsp caster sugar if you’re using it (some tomatoes just don’t have much sweetness, even in the summer).
Step
Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until the tomatoes are slightly shrunken and the tops are caramelised in patches. Leave sitting at room temperature.
Step
Take 4 hanger steaks (about 165g each) out of the fridge while the tomatoes are cooking. Lower the oven temperature to 150C/140C fan/gas mark 2. Put a roasting tin in it.
Step
For the dressing, mix 100ml buttermilk, 50g mayonnaise and 2 tsp white balsamic vinegar together.
Step
Work 50g crumbled blue cheese into this with a fork, completely mashing some of it and leaving other little chunks whole.
Step
Taste for seasoning – you should only need pepper as the blue cheese makes the dressing salty.
Step
Dry the steaks using kitchen paper – wet meat doesn’t get a good colour on it.
Step
Brush with groundnut oil and season all over.
Step
Heat a large pan – or two smaller pans – until very hot.
Step
Add the steaks and brown for 1-3 minutes on each side, turning them over with tongs, until they have a good dark colour and crust all over.
Step
Transfer the steaks to the roasting tin that’s been heating and cook in the oven for another four minutes. This will give you rare steak.
Step
Leave the steaks to rest for seven minutes, covered with foil.
Step
Divide the leaves from 1 head of romaine and the tomatoes between four plates and drizzle over the dressing.
Step
Slice the steaks, cutting against the grain, and add them to the plates (I prefer to keep the steak slices together, served on top of the leaves, but you might want to toss everything together). Serve immediately.