Tart London: How to make flat iron steak with lemongrass broth

Jemima Jones and Lucy Carr-Ellison serve up tender flat iron steak in a consoling noodle broth
Lucy Carr-Ellison4 October 2018

We usually prepare this wonderfully refreshing, nutritious broth on a Monday evening, after making stock from our Sunday roast.

We can’t stand reading about goody two shoes who do things like that, but it really is so easy. Just pop the chicken bones in a big saucepan, along with roughly chopped onions, garlic, bay leaves and anything else you have lying around — we don’t bother to peel anything — then cover with water and bring to a simmer for an hour or two. Of course, if you can’t face making your own then just use store-bought vegetable or chicken stock, or even water. The broth will still work if you don’t have all the ingredients listed, so don’t feel that you have to go out and buy everything.

Flat iron steaks come from the feather blade, a shoulder cut. We learnt about this cut recently from a friend of ours, Felix, who was our chief BBQ chef at a summer pop-up. It is a fantastic cut that is not very well known, mainly because it is a bit of a pain to prepare with gristle down both sides. But once butchered, the meat is beautifully tender and perfect for barbecuing. If you are up for a challenge, buy the whole feather blade and have a go at butchering it yourself, using the off cuts for a stew.

If you cannot find flat iron, you can use sirloin or fillet — or try prawns, or simply vegetables such as kale and bok choi.

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Flat iron steak with lemongrass broth (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

For the broth

2 tbsp groundnut oil

2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large piece of ginger, roughly chopped

2 lemongrass stalks, bashed

2 bird’s-eye chillies, sliced in half

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

Bunch of coriander stalks, chopped and leaves reserved

4 kaffir lime leaves

1 dessert spoon of fish sauce

1 large glass of white wine

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

3 sprigs of mint

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp soy sauce

Zest and juice of 2 limes

500g flat iron steak

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

350g noodles, cooked to packet instructions

100g spinach leaves

50g toasted sesame seeds

1 red chilli, finely chopped

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan and add the shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and chilli. Sauté for a couple of minutes then add the cinnamon stick, star anise, coriander stems, lime leaves and stir. Next, add the fish sauce, white wine and stock. Simmer for about 20 minutes while you cook the steak.

Heat a heavy-based pan on a high heat and rub the beef with olive oil, salt and pepper. Fry the steak until a rich golden crust has formed, flip, then reduce to a medium heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side then leave to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing thinly.

When your broth is done, take off the heat and strain into a bowl, discarding the veg. Pour the liquid back into the pan then add the mint, honey, soy, lime zest and juice. Season to taste. To serve, place some noodles and a handful of spinach leaves in the bottom of each bowl, pour over the broth, then top with the sliced beef, sesame seeds, coriander leaves and sliced chilli.

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