Pork steak with green bean and shallot salad recipe
Pork is a great-value meat and in a lot of ways, it’s a more versatile meat to cook than beef or lamb. Most cuts, if cleverly butchered, are tender enough to grill or pan-fry. In Italy, pork and fennel are a popular pairing and here I’ve made a flavourful quick-cure seasoning based on that, which gives the steak a great flavoured coating.
Timings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves
4
Ingredients
4 x 200g pork loin or leg steaks
2 tbsp fennel seeds, crushed with a mortar and pestle or finely chopped
A little vegetable oil
180g green beans, topped and tailed
For the dressing
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp Tewksbury or Dijon mustard
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large or 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
Method
An hour before serving, scatter some sea salt flakes, freshly ground black pepper and the fennel seeds on a plate and turn the pork steaks over in the seasoning, to coat.
When ready to cook, heat a ribbed griddle or heavy frying pan and drizzle with a little oil.
Cook the pork steaks for 3-4 minutes on each side (depending on their thickness), keeping it slightly pink in the middle.
Meanwhile, cook the beans in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes and drain.
For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and oil, then stir in the shallot and season to taste.
Place the pork on plates (sliced or left whole as you prefer) with the beans alongside. Spoon the dressing over the beans and serve.
