Whenever I want a salad that makes me feel full and that’s also really tasty I go for a roast beef salad. The beef is extremely soft and goes incredibly with the crispy leeks that gives it a really nice contrast of flavour. I love to use rocket as a base for salads with meat in them but as always if you prefer other type of leaves or lettuce go for it.
The dressing is super creamy and it’s extremely good with meat in particular. As a matter of fact I had roast beef leftovers and I made myself a sandwich using the dressing also and wooow it’s good with bread, too.
I LOVE quail eggs. They’re tastier and they also look really good with the salad. Make sure not to overcook them because then the protein in the yolk starts to break down and it gets a grey halo that looks really unappealing.
I’ve taught you how to make crispy leeks before when we did the 3 cheese risotto but it’s SO good that I just had to make it again. I really think it gives an intense and different flavour to a boring salad.
This salad has the things that I like to combine but of course if you want to add extras or switch a few ingredients it’s perfect. You could add tomato, croutons, mushrooms, etc. Follow your instinct and make it you own 🙂 This one’s here just to inspire you.
If you have a meat thermometer at home (I recommend that you buy one otherwise, it’s super useful), here’s the list of the core cooking temperatures depending of the degree you like. Remember that after you remove the meat from the oven it needs to rest at least 10 minutes before you can cut it.
- Blue: 26-38°C
- Medium-rare: 44-48°C
- Medium (like mine): 51-53°C
- Medium-done: 57-60°C
- Well done: 65°C to more
At this temperature you take it out of the oven but as it rests it will continue to cook a bit more to achieve that perfect degree.
Ingredients
For the roast beef
- 1 filet of 1.6-2 kg
- to taste salt and pepper
- vegetable oil
For the crispy leeks
- 1 leek
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- to taste pepper
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
For the rest of the salad
- 200 g rocket
- 18 quail eggs
- 3 avocados
For the dressing
- 100 g mayonnaisa (can be regular or light)
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- to taste tabasco
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard (you can add less if you don't like that it's a bit spicy)
- 2 limes, squeezed
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground garlic
Instructions
For the roast beef
- Clean the filet. You can see how on the video above.
- Put vegetable oil on a pan and bring to high temperature until it starts to smoke.
- Sear the meat by laying it on one side and let it get golden without moving it. Once golden, rotate and repeat. Also sear the ends.
- Take to a preheated oven at 180C for 20min for medium. Or even better, take it out when you measure with a meat thermometer that its core temperature reaches the one for the degree of cooking you like.
- Once it has cooled down to room temperature, cut thin slices.
For the crispy leeks
- Remove the top part of the leeks that's dark green and keep the light stalk.
- Cut in half lengthwise and wash it in the sink moving around the layers as the water hits it to remove the dirt that hides between the leaves.
- Cut thin strips.
- Add vegetable oil and mix so that the rest of the ingredients stick to it.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
- Take to a preheated oven at 180C for 30min or until evenly golden. Every 10min check it and toss it around so they don't stick to each other and it doesn't burn.
For the dressing
- Mix everything and think it down to your desired consistency with a bit of water.
For the hard boiled quail eggs
- Boil the eggs for 4 minutes if they have been outside the fridge and 5 minutes if they were inside.
- Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process and peel.
