Stir-fried peppered beef
SERVES 4 /PREPARATION 15 MINUTES
PLUS 30 MINUTES MARINATING /
COOKING 10 MINUTES
Stir-frying beef is fast and economical. I used tri-tip here, but rump, skirt, flat iron, sirloin or Scotch fillet could be used in its place. Usually I’ll trim off any silver skin, then put the beef into the freezer for 30-60 minutes. This helps with slicing the beef thinly. Any seasonal vegetables could be added here – I tend to quickly blanch vegetables that take a longer time to cook such as broccoli and cauliflower to make cooking in the wok faster. 2 teaspoons light soy sauce 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine 1 tablespoon cornflour
1 teaspoon sesame oil
400g beef, thinly sliced across the grain 1 head broccoli, cut into florets vegetable oil for frying
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 green capsicums, cut into pieces 1 carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
In a bowl mix together the soy and oyster sauces, Shaoxing wine, cornflour and sesame oil. Add the beef and set aside, ideally for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Blanch the broccoli in boiling, salted water for a couple of minutes, then drain and refresh. Heat a little vegetable oil in a wok or a large, heavy frying pan, add the meat in batches to brown, remove and set aside. Fry the onion until softened, add the garlic, capsicum, carrot and celery and stir-fry for a few minutes, then add the broccoli and cook for a few more minutes. Add the beef back to the pan, scatter over the pepper and stir. If you prefer the mix slightly saucy add ½ cup water or beef stock to the pan at the end. Serve with rice or noodles.
THIS PARTICULAR HARISSA is no shrinking violet. It is hot. Very hot, so do be judicious in its use. That said, you could make a mellower version by roasting a couple of red capsicums, peeling and adding to the mix. This one keeps indefinitely in the fridge as long as it is kept covered with oil. Dried red chillies vary in heat – I get mine from either an Asian supermarket or green grocer. I usually put on gloves to remove the seeds from the chillies. For a fresher, brighter and vibrant green harissa, look at the recipe on page 80.
MAKES ½ CUP / PREPARATION 10 MINUTES PLUS 30 MINUTES SOAKING
10-12 large dried chillies (approx 20g) 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds 2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
De-seed the chillies, then soak them in boiling water for 30 minutes to soften. Toast the caraway and cumin seeds in a dry pan until fragrant then allow to cool. Drain the chillies but reserve the soaking water. Put the chillies, spices, tomato paste, garlic, a couple of tablespoons of reserved soaking water, the olive oil and salt in a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. Put into a clean jar, cover with some extra olive oil and keep refrigerated until required. Roasted pumpkin and fennel with harissa & feta
Cut pumpkin, fennel and red onion into wedges, toss with harissa and olive oil, and bake at a high heat until tender. Toss with greens such as rocket, watercress or baby spinach and then scatter with goat’s feta. Gnocchi with white beans, harissa & red capsicum
Fry strips of capsicum gently until soft, add some garlic, harissa and tinned white beans. Add a dash of wine and toss with cooked bought gnocchi, chopped parsley and grated parmesan.