Steak in Bearnaise Sauce and Avocado Lettuce Salad

Steak in béarnaise Sauce and Avocado Lettuce Salad

This is the first time that we will be using avocados in our salad we are doing this as we had tried it recently when it was served to us in our office Christmas party.  To Filipinos this might sound weird as most of us was brought up that avocados are blended with something sweet and not to be used in any other dishes that’s why when we came here first in New Zealand it was a bit odd for us that they use avocados in bread.  But to our surprise when we tried it for the first time it was really good and we are even addicted to eating just avocados alone.

Now this salad is a simple recipe which only consist of lettuce, yellow capsicum, tomatoes, cucumber and avocados dressed in a ranch sauce the flavours are a bit on the light side  so I paired it with steak in béarnaise sauce which I guess is a good combination.  Now béarnaise sauce is a very popular traditional sauce for steaks which is a cross between mayonnaise and hollandaise, originated in France and is considered one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine.

A very light meal which is good for summer dinners, paired with some wine and cheese.

Ingredients (béarnaise Sauce)

2 pcs small shallots, finely chopped
3 tbsp tarragon
3 tbsp white wine
2 tbsp white vinegar
3 egg yolks
juice from 1 lemon
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp water
200g butter, cubed in room temperature

Ingredients (Avocado and Lettuce Salad)

1/2 iceberg lettuce
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 yellow capsicum, sliced
4 vine tomatoes, sliced
2 avocados, sliced
ranch dressing
freshly ground black pepper

Method (Béarnaise Sauce)

1. In a sauce pan, add shallots, 2 tbsp tarragon, white wine and vinegar.  Simmer until liquid is reduced.  Now stain the liquid then set aside and let it cool down
2. Using a double boiler add egg yolks and 1 tsp water.  Make sure the liquid below is near boiling point (do not boil) and the top pan should not touch the hot water.
3. Now place the cooled down tarragon vinegar mixture while whisking continuously.
4. Add butter a cube at a time until totally melted, whisk continuously to emulsify (like making mayonnaise).
5. Once all of the butter cubes are added, add the remaining tarragon and season it with salt and pepper.
6. Pour on freshly grilled meat.

Method (Avocado and Lettuce Salad)

1. Toss together lettuce, cucumber, yellow capsicum and tomatoes.
2. Place in plate, top with avocado slices drizzle with ranch dressing.
3. Season with freshly ground black pepper.