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Barbecued bavette with kale and pumpkin seed mojo verde
Serves 4-6 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 800g bavette steak, preferably dry-aged for at least 30 days, trimmed of any excess fat and sinews
- Cornbread, to serve (optional)
For the mojo verde
- 40g pumpkin seeds
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1tsp cumin seeds
- 120g coriander (leavesand stems)
- 40g kale, washed, tough stalks removed and leaves roughly chopped
- 100ml vegetable or sunflower oil
- 80ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2tsp ground cumin
- 1tbsp sherry vinegar
- grated zest and juice 1 lime
- 1tsp sea salt
- 1tsp honey
Method
Allow the bavette to come to room temperature – this helps it cook evenly – and season it generously with salt. If you’re cooking over a barbecue (which is heartily recommended), light it now.
To make the mojo verde, heat a dry frying pan over a medium- high heat, add the pumpkin seeds and garlic cloves and toast for a couple of minutes, stirring, until the pumpkin seeds are puffed and popping, and the garlic cloves are toasted. Add the cumin seeds and toast for a minute or so, until fragrant and slightly browned, being careful not to let them burn. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little, then tip everything into the bowl of a food processor or mini chopper. Pulse to a crumb, then add all the other ingredients and blitz well until you have a smooth green sauce. Taste for seasoning and sharpness: it should be earthy, sweet, sharp and savoury all at once and beautifully balanced. You might need to add a little more vinegar to help it to just pique the palate. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
You need the charcoal on the barbecue to be glowing white, with no visible flame. If you’re cooking the steak on the hob, heat a griddle pan over a high heat until stinking hot. Once the coals are glowing, place the meat on the barbecue grill or griddle and grill for 3 minutes on each side for rare, 5–7 minutes on each side for medium rare. You can test the doneness by pressing the meat. If it’s really wobbly in the middle, it will be rare. The firmer it gets, the more cooked it will be. Bear in mind though that bavette always feels a bit soft in the middle – so we’re talking varying degrees of softness. Once you’re satisfied (it will continue to cook while resting) transfer to a board and leave to rest, uncovered, for at least 15 minutes. This is crucial as the meat will relax and also retain its juices. If you cut into it straight away the juices will escape.
Once rested, season the meat well with black pepper and cut it against the grain into strips. Serve on warmed plates with the mojo verde and cornbread, if you like.
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