Recipes › Watercress › Seared Steak with Watercress, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad
Seared Steak with Watercress, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad
This is the salad that earns its place as a main course. A properly rested rump steak, sliced thin and laid over a generous pile of peppery watercress dressed with a mustardy vinaigrette, with walnuts for crunch and salty nuggets of blue cheese throughout. The heat from the steak gently wilts the leaves just at the edges — that is exactly what you want.
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Ingredients
- 150 g watercress, thick stalks removed
- 400 g rump steak, at room temperature, patted drysirloin or ribeye also excellent
- 50 g walnut halves, roughly broken
- 80 g blue cheese, crumbled — Stilton or GorgonzolaRoquefort works well too
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp coarse black pepper, freshly ground
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp clear honey
Contains: milk, mustard, nuts, sulphites.
Method
- Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and honey in a small bowl until emulsified. Season with a pinch of salt and set aside.About 2 min
- Season the steak generously all over with the salt and black pepper, pressing it into the surface.About 1 min
- Heat a heavy frying pan or griddle over the highest heat until it is smoking. Add the rapeseed oil, then lay the steak in the pan. For medium-rare, cook a 2cm thick steak for 3 minutes per side without moving it. Adjust by 30 seconds either way for your preference.About 7 min
- Transfer the steak to a board and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Do not skip this step — the juices need time to redistribute.About 5 min
- While the steak rests, place the watercress in a large bowl, drizzle over three-quarters of the dressing and toss gently. Arrange on two plates and scatter over the walnuts and blue cheese.About 2 min
- Slice the steak thinly against the grain and lay over the dressed watercress. Drizzle over any resting juices from the board and the remaining dressing. Serve immediately.About 1 min
Tips
- The steak must be at room temperature before it hits the pan — a cold steak causes the muscle to seize up and you get uneven cooking right through.
- Resting is not optional. A 5-minute rest for a steak this size makes the difference between juicy and dry.
- Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 3 minutes before using them if you want an extra layer of flavour.
Ring the changes
- Replace the steak with a thick tuna steak — sear for 1 minute per side so it stays rare in the middle — for a pescatarian version that works just as well.
- Swap blue cheese for 30g of shaved Parmesan and replace walnuts with toasted pine nuts for a milder but still very good salad.
Keeping it
This dish is best eaten immediately. Leftover steak can be refrigerated for up to 2 days and sliced cold over a fresh batch of dressed watercress — it is actually excellent that way. Do not dress the leaves in advance.
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