Less is More

Making Meat go Further.

Eating meat in summer poses a challenge, Outdoor 'al fresco' lunches are wonderful but too much
of a good thing can leave you feeling horribly full, guilty for ruining all your diet plans and, especially in the case of barbecues, sticky, mucky and totally inelegant.
The Italians have always had an edge when it comes to entertaining outdoors and the flavours created by that cuisine are perfect for using smaller amounts of expensive meats and fish.
Three large 2 inch thick, well hung and matured sirloin steaks can be cooked in a way that will feed 10-12 people combined with a selection of very tasty accompaniments.
Most Italian artisan shops will sell packets of herb mixes that can be extremely useful for flavouring meat dishes.

Take your three thick steaks and pat the herb mix all over them. Leave them to stand for 10 minutes.
Prepare a skillet with some oil and goose fat and fry the steaks for 3 minutes then turn them and fry for a further 4 minutes. They should feel like the cushion of your thumb in the palm of your hand. Soft and yielding. Definitely not hard and not squidgy. Take the steaks out and leave to rest on a wooden carving board, they can stay there for 30 minutes...you can always flash them quickly before caring up if you really want the dish piping hot, in summer I prefer my food 'Mediterranean warm'.

Yes there really are only 3 steaks on this large platter      
        
 Be inventive with salads

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you are ready to serve lunch prepare all of your vegetables and salads, bread cheeses etc. and last of all carve the steaks diagonally about 1/2 inch wide in strips and lay on a pretty plate lengthwise. Add some capers and caper berries and any garnish you prefer. Most people will take one or two strips and a few will come back for more, generally I find ladies will eat no more than two strips and feel they have eaten plenty of meat. The flavour and texture is divine and no-one feels obliged to eat more than they feel comfortable with.

Salads with an Italian theme are plentiful and easy. Tomato and Mozzarella, Green salad with Rocket leaves, in fact basil, olives and a good olive oil and balsamic dressing will make almost anything fit the theme. New potatoes baked upright in a dish with their tops and bottoms cut off level but still with their skins and sprinkled with rosemary, thyme and some lavender flowers, a little oil and butter are absolutely delicious.
Desserts with an Italian them are so plentiful and some are surprisingly easy...I chose Torta Della Nona, a delicious custard pie with pine nut topping which is very traditional and pure comfort food.


Appearance enhances flavours

     
 Torta Della Nona

For ten people this makes a very reasonably priced lunch that can be served on any outdoor occasion to even the fussiest of guests.

Enjoy the weekend!

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