Recipe by Illanique van Aswegen
Chargrilled steak, avocado and orzo salad with caramelised onion dressing
Ingredients
- Dressing
- 30g butter
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 5ml (1 tsp) garlic, crushed
- 5ml (1 tsp) wholegrain mustard
- 250ml (1 cup) sour cream
- 125ml (½ cup) milk
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Salad
- 200g orzo pasta
- 300g asparagus spears
- 4 (600g) sirloin steaks
- olive oil/avocado oil, to brush
- squeeze fresh lemon juice
- 2 avocados, thinly sliced
- handful rocket
Instructions
For the dressing, heat the butter in a heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add the onion and gently sauté until soft and golden, 20 – 25 minutes. Stir in the garlic and mustard. Cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, combine with the sour cream and milk and blitz with a hand blender until smooth. Season to taste.
For the salad, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the orzo and cook until al dente, 8 – 10 minutes.
Blanch the asparagus in some salted water, about 1 minute, then refresh in ice-cold water. Strain and chop into smaller pieces.
Heat a griddle pan until hot. Brush the steaks with the oil and sear them, 2 – 3 minutes a side for medium rare. Allow to rest, then thinly slice each steak.
Add a squeeze of lemon juice to the sliced avocados to prevent them from going brown.
To assemble the salad, place some of the dressing at the bottom of each jar. Add the orzo, then the sliced avocado and chopped asparagus. Add a layer of meat and top with the rocket.
Notes
To turn this salad into a vegetarian option, simply replace the steak with chargrilled pieces of aubergine, mushrooms or baby marrow.
