This is Mike Van de Elzen’s favourite kind of recipe. Simple and quick, but packs a real flavour punch.

Words and recipe: Michael Van de Elzen

Wow, what a year. It’s hard to believe 2021 is nearly upon us, however I don’t think I’m alone in looking forward to seeing the back of 2020. But like everything, it did have a silver lining in amongst all the unsettlement.

I for one loved the time spent on the farm putting a dent into the endless list of jobs but more so spending time with the family.

Being able to take the kids for a bicycle ride down the gravel roads, not worrying about cars speeding around the corners, or building a go-kart so that they can catapult themselves down the drive at such speeds I have to look away – we had lots of fun.

I’ve loved seeing a lot of people reconnect with food this year, whether it was becoming a sourdough master over lockdown or trying new recipes with the extra time a commute would have taken while they work from home.

This recipe is my favourite kind – simple and quick but packing a real flavour punch. This is a great one when you have friends and family over for a summer BBQ. There is nothing worse than hosting and spending the whole time in the kitchen preparing the food, and not getting to speak to your guests at all!

It’s already a quick recipe, but the rub can be made in advance to save even more time. This can be served with your favourite sides, leaving you more time doing what matters most – connecting with loved ones.

Rubbed Beef Skirt Steak

Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins

INGREDIENTS

Steak:
1kg whole beef skirt steak
1 tbsp oil

Mike’s house rub:
1 tbsp each mustard, cumin, coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp sea salt
½ tbsp cracked pepper
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp cayenne pepper

METHOD

Mix all of the spice rub ingredients together. Rub the steak first with olive oil then with spice rub. Place onto a rack over hot coals for 5 minutes each side. Remove, cover in tin foil and rest for a further minutes.

Once rested, slice across the grain and serve with heaps of the pepper salsa.

Pepper Salsa

2 red peppers, burnt on the Engel fire.
1 punt tomatoes, quartered
1 cup parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
100ml avocado oil
salt and pepper

METHOD

Heat a BBQ and rub the red peppers with a little oil and season with salt. Place over a flame and grill until the skin of the pepper turns black. Place the peppers into a bowl and cover with cling film and allow sweating for 10 minutes whilst you mix all the other ingredients together.

Once you can handle the peppers, rub off the black skin and remove the seeds. Roughly chop and add to the rest of the salsa.