Green papaya, mango and rare beef

Green papayas and mangoes can be found in Asian supermarkets, but if you don’t have one locally, look out for underripe fruits instead.

Serves 4 Ingredients

♦ 3 spring onions, trimmed, halved and julienned ♦ ½tbsp olive oil ♦ 180g skirt steak ♦ 1 green or underripe papaya (about 350g), peeled and deseeded ♦ 1 small green or underripe mango (about 450g), peeled and stone removed ♦ 30g mint, leaves picked ♦ 30g coriander, leaves picked ♦ Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing:

♦ 1 small garlic clove ♦ 1 red bird’s eye chilli ♦ 1tbsp caster sugar ♦ Juice of 2 limes ♦ 1tbsp fish sauce

To garnish:

♦ 2tbsp mixed black and white sesame seeds ♦ 2tbsp crispy fried shallots (optional) ♦ 20g roasted peanuts, roughly chopped ♦ 1 red chilli, finely sliced

Method

1Place

the julienned spring onions into a bowl of ice-cold water and set aside. This crisps up the spring onions and makes them curl up beautifully. Drizzle a little olive oil over the skirt steak and season. 2Fry

in a searingly hot pan for about 1-2 minutes on each side – a little longer if the steak is thick (though it should be quite thin). Set aside to rest. 3Make

the dressing. Using a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic, chilli and sugar until you have a smooth paste. Add the lime juice, fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of water, mix together and set aside. 4Finely

grate the papaya and mango. When ready to serve, toss the papaya, mango, spring onions and herbs with the dressing. Slice the beef against the grain as thinly as possible and serve alongside the salad, garnished with the sesame seeds, crispy fried shallots, peanuts and chilli.

Tips: Skirt steak is best served rare, hence the very short cooking time. If you prefer your meat well done, opt for a cut such as fillet.

Green papayas and mangoes can be found in Asian supermarkets, but if you don’t have one locally, look out for underripe fruits