A twist on an Italian classic that’s super fast to put together
SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 20 mins
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: family meal, easy meal, midweek, lunch
BUDGET: £ – ££
What do you do when in lockdown?
Well, we feel into the ‘lockdown’ trends including…
- ‘learn to make pasta’
- ‘learn to make bread’ – well, Tim was trying his hand at naan and I tried roti – both quite tricky!
- online-at-home exercise – happy to say, I’m still doing it, but admittedly, not with the same enthusiasm as at the beginning of lockdown.
- gardening
- and… DIY.
We’ve re-painted the entire external masonry, all the window frames, built a greenhouse, painted the kitchen, again…
And the ‘final’ big job (*we all know in this household there is never a ‘final DIY job’), paint the wooden shutters.
Our clever neighbour, Charlie, made them for us in his workshop.
They all have the shape of a Swift outline cut into them so when any light pushes through, we get this wonderful Swift outline on our walls.
Clever Charlie.
But now, we have to paint the shutters – groan.
And that was meant to be a simple job, done in the garden.
But when is a simple job, ever a simple job?!
DAY 1: I sprayed my legs and feet white! 
DAY 2: I wasn’t going to be caught out twice… plastic feet covers..
Simple food
That’s why I had made a plan to whip up a really simple dish.
You don’t want do battle with DIY and then have a battle in the kitchen.
So, this steak tagliata with crispy fried gnocchi I uncovered from one of my favourite food mags, Delicious, inspired me to cook this.
Classic Italian cooking: beef tagliata
The Italians have given us a lot of great food to enjoy.
Think spaghetti alla carbonara, thin based, simple pizza, decadent tiramisu, creamy burrata, olives, olive oil…
But this is one I have never come across much, beef tagliata.
In a nutshell, it’s a quality piece of steak, lightly grilled to medium-rare.
Sliced into thin slices.
Served on a bed of leaves like rocket with sweet vine cherry tomatoes and slices of Parmesan cheese.
It’s a classic simple Italian dish.
And as usual the flavours are based on quality of ingredients.
So, don’t skimp on quality.
The other bonus to this dish, you can use two steaks to feed four people so it’s cost effective as well.
The twist
After a day of DIY, there are hungry mouths to feed, including mine.
So, I have given a twist to the dish and instead of rocket, I used watercress and added green beans.
And also, included fried gnocchi.
Now, you could make your own gnocchi.
And maybe on another day, I’ll attempt it and post it.
However, this is meant to be easy so I used bought fresh gnocchi.
And it’s a winner!
Buon appetito!
Steak tagliata with green beans and fried gnocchi
Equipment
- large platter for serving
Ingredients
Cooking element
- 2 x 200g rump or sirloin steak (quality steak)
- 7 tbsp olive oil
- knob of butter
- 200 g green beans, top and tail
- 300 g fresh gnocchi
Dressing
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 juice of lemon
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon and parsley
For the platter – no cooking
- 1 packet or watercress (or use rocket)
- 250 g vine cherry tomatoes (cut in half if they are too big)
- Fresh basil, parmesan shavings and black pepper, to serve
Instructions
- Heat a griddle or frying pan until smoking hot. Brush the steaks with olive oil, then season. Griddle/fry for 3-4 minutes on each side for medium.Set aside to rest.
- In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and a knob of butter, then fry your beans. After a couple of minutes add you fresh gnocchi and cook until golden and heated through (approx 5 mins). Season with salt and black pepper.
- Now in a bowl, mix 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and fresh tarragon and parsley. Lightly season.
- On a large platter, scatter the watercress, the beans, crispy fried gnocchi and lastly the cherry tomatoes before adding the sliced steak.Drizzle over the dressing and serve with a garnish of fresh basil, parmesan shavings and black pepper.
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